LeBron's fourth-quarter run exposes the Kings' weakness early in the season

LeBron's fourth-quarter run exposes Kings' early season weakness originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Leave it to LeBron James to expose the Kings' biggest weakness two games into the 2024-25 NBA season.

The 39-year-old superstar scored 16 points during the Lakers' 21-0 run in the fourth quarter to help Los Angeles to a thrilling 131-127 victory over Sacramento on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.

In doing so, James not only proved his undeniable value in his 22nd NBA season, but also made it clear that the Kings' glaring weakness heading into this season was defense.

The Kings' defensive system, which lacked neither physicality nor tenacity last season, had no answer for James and Co. late in the game, especially in transition after turnovers.

“We were just trying to get stops, you know,” Kings center Domantas Sabonis told reporters Saturday. “LeBron was kind of like LeBron. He started walking.

“He did his thing and we were careless with the ball on the other side instead of scoring or making good shots. “We had a couple turnovers there that helped them make that run.”

Los Angeles won the rebound duel 45-32 and outscored Sacramento by eight offensively. Sabonis, who finished the night with his first triple-double of the season, led the Kings with 12 rebounds, while guard De'Aaron Fox was second with five rebounds.

James finished the game with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, handing the Kings their first loss to the Lakers since January 7, 2023. Fox was impressed by the future Hall of Famers' dominant longevity, which he didn't think was too will be seen again.

“I mean, guys his age play recreationally,” Fox said. “Obviously what he’s done throughout his career in this league has been amazing. And what he is doing now, in the 22nd grade, will probably never be repeated.”

During the offseason, coach Mike Brown's defensive structure was questioned, which was ranked as high as No. 2 at the end of last season.

Late in the preseason, Brown expressed concerns about Sacramento's 3-point defense, which was a major deficiency in the Kings' season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

On the other hand, general manager Monte McNair, who stepped up offensively by signing DeMar Derozan, expressed no concerns weeks earlier about his decision not to improve the defense in the offseason, citing the Kings' defensive progress last season as reproducible formula.

Both Brown and McNair managed to keep much of the roster behind Sacramento's fearsome defense late last season. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before the tide turns.

But so far, that's not the case for the winless Kings, who, as James pointed out, have a glaring defensive problem that requires immediate attention.

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