Analyzing The Sacramento Kings Upcoming Homestand

As the Sacramento Kings final quarter of the season is now in play, the chances of the team making the playoffs are bleak.

Technically the purple and white still have a chance for postseason contention, but it is going to take quite an effort for the Kings in order to do so.

The Kings do have a three-game homestand coming up where they can gain momentum. It will be challenging though as it consists of opponents in the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and Utah Jazz.

With that being said, read below to see my analysis and notes for the upcoming games that the Sacramento Kings will have to encounter for the rest of this week.

Game 1 (March 9th, Cleveland Cavaliers):

This game will probably be the hardest contest for the Kings during their home stretch. Lead by LeBron James, one of the best basketball players in the world, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the top dogs of the Eastern Conference with a record of 44-18.

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What the Kings need to do in this contest is feed the ball to DeMarcus Cousins and let him take over, whether it is off scoring the ball or setting up others to score. The Kings will also need to buckle up on their perimeter defense as Cleveland has an arsenal of shooters that can potentially get hot.

Players like Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and J.R. Smith can catch fire from the perimeter, and if one of them can be successful in doing so the Kings will have a long night. The Cavaliers are also ranked 5th in the league in three-pointers made per game (10.5) (per ESPN Stats), so they will definitely look to expose what arguably is the Kings worst deficiency.

Game 2 (March 11th, Orlando Magic):
The last time the Kings faced off against the Magic the purple and white were able to get the victory 97-91. The main reason why the Kings were able to win was because they were able to dominate in the paint and play solid defense. That performance will have to replicate this Friday night.

This means players like DeMarcus Cousins, Kosta Koufos, and Willie Cauley-Stein will have to take advantage of the Magic bigs and make shots in the paint. The last time these two teams met, Cousins and Koufos had solid games scoring the ball as they scored 29 and 12 points apiece.

Also, the Magic are ranked in the bottom third in the NBA in points scored per game (100.8) (per ESPN Stats). As long as the Kings can give a good defensive effort they should be able to handle an Orlando squad that is young and still developing.

Game 3 (March 13th, Utah Jazz):
With the Kings and the Jazz both a couple of games behind for the final playoff spot in the West, this game will be vital for both teams. Believe it or not, the Jazz has been one of the teams that the Kings have had success this season as they lead the series 2-0.

There are two factors that need to happen for the Kings to win this game. 1) The “Big Three” for the Kings has to play well and 2) The defense has to be at least average.

In the last two games that the Kings have had against the Jazz, the trio of DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, and Rudy Gay had solid games. They need to replicate those performances when the Jazz come into Sleep Train Arena on Sunday.

Also, the Kings defense needs to be present on the court as well. The Jazz offense this season has struggled as they are ranked 27th in the league in points scored per game (97.9). (per ESPN Stats)

If the Kings can earn a satisfactory grade for their defense, they should be fine. Basically, show effort and give a damn when they are on the defensive end.

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Final Thoughts: These next three games can determine whether the Kings have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs or not. When looking at these games it’s realistic that Sacramento can come out of this homestretch with a 2-1 record. The games I foresee them winning are against the Magic and Jazz

The Kings have shown prior to this week that they have played well against Orlando and Utah, and I think with Sacramento playing in front of their home crowd it will give them momentum to feed on throughout the games.

Although a 2-1 record may look nice by itself, it will not make much/or any ground towards their goal in making the playoffs. For the Kings to really make a statement in saving their season they have to come out of this homestand with a 3-0 record.

If Sacramento is able to go undefeated in these next three games, it will certainly get them closer to the 8th seed in the standings and also give them confidence going forward into what is suppose to be an easy schedule down the stretch.

Fans of the Sacramento Kings are always going to be #SacramentoProud, but now is the time to become #KingsProud as well.

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