Let us examine why the Sacramento Kings have been losing as of late.
After a road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Sacramento Kings’ recent slump has taken them six games out of the eighth seed. The Kings now have only three wins in their last 12 games, with two of those wins coming against the last-place New York Knicks.
Although this stretch has produced some good performances and close losses to East powerhouses like the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, there have been some persistent issues throughout the slump that have led to the Kings’ playoff chances dropping dramatically.
Buddy and Bogi Taking Bad Shots
One constant throughout this slump has been the poor decision making of Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Despite proving themselves as more than capable scorers in a lightning-quick offense, both Hield and Bogdanovic have failed to be efficient or wise in the past 12 games.
Hield has been shooting field goals at only 40.7% over the course of this slump. Since the All-Star game, his three-point shooting has been 8% lower than his season average. Considering he came into the second half of the season ready to bet his house on a playoff berth, his play has been subpar.
Bogdanovic has been playing smarter than Hield but shooting far worse. His last 20 games have seen him shooting 37% from the field and 27% from three. With two of the Kings’ deadliest perimeter threats looking worse than ever, wins against top teams in both conferences are nearly impossible.
Losing Focus
The Kings have had no shortage of leads during this slump. Blown leads late in games against teams like the Celtics will come back to haunt them when looking at the win total at the end of the season. Many recent games have seen the Kings competitive throughout the match before losing focus and getting put in a hole too big to climb out of.
The Outlook
With the recent slump, all but guaranteeing the Kings will not achieve a playoff berth this season, some expect the Kings to continue to play poorly. However, with small improvements in their late-game defense and the team’s scorers returning back to form, the Kings can easily close the year out strong to make a statement going into next year.