Opposing Teams Set The Table For Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings need a lot of help to get in to the playoffs this season. Things are off to a good start after a perfect Wednesday.
The Sacramento Kings have an outside shot at securing a playoff berth this season, when it feels like they shouldn’t have a chance at all. The season had been mostly a disappointment through the first 50 games or so, but Sacramento has turned it on lately, having won 9 of their last 13.
The Kings not only have to play outstanding basketball down the stretch, but they must also rely on the misfortune of some other franchises in order to sneak in to the 8th seed.
At the start of the day on Wednesday, the Memphis Grizzlies were the owners of the final playoff spot. Unfortunately for them, they are currently enduring a brutal portion of their schedule, and one of their young stars will be out at least two weeks and likely longer.
Their lead over Portland, who lost the previous night, was at 2.5 games. A half game behind the Trail Blazers were the Pelicans and Spurs, followed by the Kings, who were a full four games back of the idol Grizzlies. The Suns began the night just a half game behind Sacramento.
Wednesday’s Action
There were a handful of games on Wednesday night that had the potential to shift around the standings in the Kings favor if everything were to break the way it was supposed to. Things looked promising: each team that Sacramento needed to root for was favored by at least five points.
Everything went perfectly to plan. The Spurs lost to Mavericks, the Suns to the Clippers, and Memphis was demolished by Houston on national television.
Having three teams that you are battling against lose in the same night is rare, and the Kings had better capitalize on this opportunity. The standings will look like this heading in to Thursday’s slate of games:
8. Grizzlies 28-30
9. Trail Blazers 26-33 (2.5 GB)
10. Pelicans 25-33 (3 GB)
11. Kings 24-33 (3.5 GB)
12. Suns 24-35 (4.5 GB)
There are two games on the NBA schedule for Thursday that will affect these standings. At 5 PM on TNT, the Trail Blazers will visit the Indiana Pacers. Go Indy. At the same time, the Kings will be tipping off in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, a formidable opponent who Sacramento has split the season series with so far.
The Thunder have been one of the biggest surprises this season and are not the pushovers we took them to be before the season. They are currently sitting in the 5th seed, and will make the playoffs comfortably barring a historic collapse.
They will be a perfect test for the Kings: a solid playoff team without an unmanageable amount of star power to have to deal with. Sacramento has the confidence that they can beat them, but also knows that OKC can give them a beat down, both of which have happened so far this season.
The Kings players know what is at stake. They look at the standings and follow the results from around the league as it pertains to their playoff chances, as much as they say they don’t. They should be treating every game like a playoff game at this point, and if this one isn’t a must win, then it is damn close.
If all goes according to plan, the Kings would be in a three-way tie with the Pelicans and Trail Blazers for the 9th seed by the end of the night.
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You can watch the game on NBCSports California or listen live on KHTK.