Opinion: Sacramento Kings Playoff Hopes Look Bleak

The rose-colored goggles are off.

The current roster on the Sacramento Kings is as talented as ever in recent history. Yet they have underachieved so far this season, again.

With the expectations of making the playoffs, which would finally break the franchise’s current streak of missing the postseason for 9 years, it has not gone well for the purple and white.

Currently, the Kings have a record of 23-31, which earns them the 10th seed in the Western Conference standings. They are now 4 games behind the Houston Rockets who currently have the 8th and final playoff seed in the West.

With 28 games left in the regular season, the Kings do have a chance to still salvage their season and contend in the playoffs. But honestly do they really?

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Technically yes, the Kings playoff hopes are still alive. They have the opportunity in front of them to shape up and play good basketball, which would result in their record gradually improving. But again, what gives fans the indication that they can turn their season around? Really nothing

The team has been very inconsistent this season. It’s a bit of a head scratcher when looking at the Kings schedule and their results. Sacramento has been able to display statement wins against competitive teams like the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Indiana Pacers (twice).

But on the other hand, they have also shown some excruciating defeats in games against the Minnesota Timberwolves (twice), the Brooklyn Nets, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

While the Kings remain to be inconsistent, teams that are also striving to gain a playoff spot have played solid basketball recently. These teams are the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and the New Orleans Pelicans.

In the last 10 games, the Blazers have a record of 9-1, the Jazz 7-3, and the Pelicans to a lesser degree 5-5. The Kings in their last 10 contests have only won three times. Two of those victories came in close games against the 76ers and Denver Nuggets.

While teams like the Blazers and Jazz are giving it their all in the last ⅓ of the regular season, the Kings remain the same. It is possible that the Kings can still make a run going forward, but their next 10 games are brutal as it contains opponents like the San Antonio Spurs (twice), Los Angeles Clippers, OKC Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

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These next 10 games will probably tell the destiny of  Sacramento’s season. If they are able to make an epic run and string together significant wins their chances definitely increase.

However, if they continue their ways and do not make any progress on their record then that might just be the tipping point before the team waves the white flag.

Overall, the Kings technically do have a shot at the playoffs, but looking at how they have played so inconsistent compared to other teams gunning for the playoffs and that their next 10 games will be against severe competition, I can’t foresee a scenario where the Kings end up in the top 8 of the West at the end of the season.

Most Sacramento fans can agree that the 2015-2016 season for the Kings has not been ideal. With the roster that was represented at the start of the year, it seemed like the franchise finally figured it out and that they were going to at least make a threat to earn a postseason seed.

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But instead, it looks like the Kings will go into the Golden 1 Center as again a team that has not tasted postseason play for what would be a 10th consectutive season. It’s a royal pain indeed to be a Kings fan.