A Royal Pain
Fansided

Three Teams That Could Keep Kings Out Of The Playoffs

By Anthony Cardenas

SACRAMENTO, CA - FEBRUARY 8: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings high fives his teammates during the game against the Miami Heat on February 8, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - FEBRUARY 8: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings high fives his teammates during the game against the Miami Heat on February 8, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Golden State Warriors

After years of league and historical dominance, the Golden State Warriors will enter the season with question marks surrounding their potential.

The Kevin Durant era in the Bay Area is over, and Klay Thompson will be sidelined for at least half of the upcoming season. Their bench is razor-thin, and Alfonzo McKinnie will likely be in the starting lineup.

But the Warriors are still incredibly strong at the top. Steph Curry has shown that he can carry a team with MVP-caliber play and might have to turn on 2016 Mode this season as well. Draymond Green is still a DPOY candidate. Newcomer D’Angelo Russell was an All-Star last season and placed second in Most Improved Player voting.

The Warriors will still score plenty of points, but until Thompson returns, their backcourt defense will suffer. Many Western Conference teams have highly formidable backcourts which could present a problem for Curry and Russell.

One of those teams will be the Kings. Last season Sacramento went 0-4 against their Northern California counterparts, but every game went down to the wire. The Kings lost by a total of just 12 points over the four games. Sacramento improved its roster over the summer, while Golden State will most likely regress given their situation. There is plenty of reason to believe that the Kings can take multiple games from the Warriors this season.

The Kings play the Warriors twice before the All-Star break, which is roughly when Thompson is slated to return. Their final matchup will come in the last game of the season, which will be a big one for the Kings. They could be battling the Warriors for a playoff spot.

But if the Warriors have already clinched a berth by then, they might rest players in preparation for the long grind of the playoffs. In that case, Sacramento would likely need to capitalize that night to secure themselves a spot in the playoffs.

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