A Royal Pain
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Sacramento Kings: The curtain is about to close on the 2018-19 season

By John Kelly

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 9: De'Aaron Fox #5 and Buddy Hield #24 of the Sacramento Kings shake hands during the game against the New York Knicks on March 9, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 9: De'Aaron Fox #5 and Buddy Hield #24 of the Sacramento Kings shake hands during the game against the New York Knicks on March 9, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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With a rough post-trade deadline stretch for the Sacramento Kings, their hopes of making the playoffs have all but disappeared.

As the old saying goes, it’s not over till the fat lady sings, but for the Sacramento Kings, she is warming up her vocal cords. Two recent losses in games Sacramento should have won against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers hurt their chances of making the playoffs — and badly.

Those losses brought us to today, where a loss to another team they should’ve beat — who don’t have a winning record in the Washington Wizards — added a ton of pressure. Of course, there are no easy games at this time of the year, as most teams have built up a lot of chemistry after nearly a full season together. And that even extends to the teams that are out of the playoff race and are building for next year.

If you want to hope the Sacramento Kings make the postseason, watch the Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz and

hope

pray they lose.

More from A Royal Pain

What do fans root for if not the playoffs or the draft?

As the Kings are falling out of postseason race what do fans cheer for? The obvious answer is for the other teams ahead of the Kings in the playoffs to  lose, a lot. If that happens, it would certainly increase the slim hopes the Kings make the playoffs should either the Spurs and/or Jazz start to slide in the standings.

Fans can also hope the young players to have learned that every game has an impact come mid-April, unfortunately they’ll have to learn this hard-way. And continue rooting for arguably the most unexpected NBA success story, the 2018-19 Sacramento Kings, to finish the year on a high-note.

Root for Marvin Bagley III to be named to an All-Rookie team, and preferably the first one. After missing time due to being injured twice, Bagley will fall well short of winning Rookie of the Year, but as long as they acknowledge his high-level of play, that’d be good enough.

Root for Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox to win the Most Improved Player award; for Vlade Divac getting proper credit for making a jump from bad GM, to Exective of the Year candidate; for Head Coach Dave Joerger to be a candidate for Coach of the Year, though Joerger certainly stands a better chance if the Kings make the playoffs.

The bright side

For much of the 12 years, the Sacramento Kings have not been in a postseason race this late in the year, often being out of it well before the All-Star Break. And while the Sacramento Kings aren’t *technically* out of the postseason yet, the other contenders for the last two playoff spots would have to lose a lot of games. More than one could realistically hope them to.

Sacramento Kings: Bold predictions for the homestretch. light. Hot

With that out-of-the-way though, we can safely say this Kings team has been the most enjoyable to watch in a long time. From the last second shots by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield to win games in a thrilling fashion; the many times the purple and white overcame double-digit deficits to become the “Cardiac Kings”; watching Marvin Bagley adjust to the NBA seamlessly; Harry Giles coming into his own as of late; Nemanja Bjelica had bringing us deflections, blocks and rebounds and so much more.

Bjelica showed us skills that we didn’t know to be part of his game when the Kings signed him. And we acquired Harrison Barnes to fill the small forward position before this summer, giving the front office time to focus on shoring up the other voids on the roster. There’s really a lot to be thankful for with our whole organization being on solid ground.

Just think about how this years campaign was supposed to play out. According to the preseason — not very well. This year was supposed to be another year of long losing streaks with erratic play from game to game; Vlade Divac getting roasted daily for not being the right guy to lead a culture change; Dave Joerger on the hot seat as a coach who can’t develop young talent, and not Brandon Williams.

It would’ve ended with the DeMarcus Cousins trade would be a weekly topic that we wish would go away; Vivek Ranadive being a meddling owner to the detriment of the team — essentially, the same way it always does.

Next. Grading the Kings’ deadline moves, one month later. dark

The “fat lady” could be getting ready to sing, but Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” might be the tune she belts out.

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