Lakers vs. Kings: Start time, TV schedule and game preview

The big day has finally arrived for Lonzo Ball. His showdown with Sacramento Kings rookie De’Aaron Fox, after months of subtle trash talk (and other not-so-subtle barbs coming from LaVar Ball) about ducking Fox since Las Vegas Summer League, comes to a head Wednesday night in Sac-Town.

The Los Angeles Lakers are fresh off a win over the Chicago Bulls, powered by a second-half comeback. Traveling up the coast to round out a back-to-back before hitting a Thanksgiving weekend break is all that’s left to wrap up the week. The purple and gold will be out of action until Monday following their game against the Kings, playing visitor to the struggling LA Clippers when it’s time to get back to action.

Focus is on the Kings for now, who’ve lost five of their last six games, but have been without Buddy Hield for the last two. Hield is expected to be ready to play after dealing with a minor ankle injury, bringing his sharpshooting back onto the court. While he’s averaging just 11.6 points per game, he’s still shooting 39.7 percent from deep (on 4.2 attempts per game).

This is a game where the Lakers’ defense and pace brings home a victory. The Kings (95.1) are one of two teams with a worse offensive rating than the Lakers (98.9), which should mean plenty of opportunities to get out on the break after grabbing a board. They’ll have to put the clamps on Zach Randolph, the Kings’ leading scorer at 12.3 points per game.

Yep.

Taking care of this game before hitting a nice layoff is important for the Lakers. December is going to be rough, with two games against the Golden State Warriors, a game against the Houston Rockets, a four-game road trip that includes stops in Cleveland and Philadelphia, and some tough games as a whole.

Lozno vs. Fox is going down, and the Lakers should be focused as ever on getting this win. Have we mentioned the Lakers are currently the No. 8 seed in the West? Enjoy the game!

Time: 7:30 p.m. PT

TV: Spectrum SportsNet, ESPN