ESPN Analyst predicts Kings to make noise in the playoffs
By Elaine Blum
The Kings don’t receive much attention in the national sports media so when they are mentioned our ears perk up immediately. Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins regularly talks on ESPN’s show NBA Today, and he gave some love to the Kings.
In his segment “Big Perk’s Big List,” he ranked the best teams in the West. The Kings’ season so far has been defined by up and downs and inconsistencies.
De’Aaron Fox is playing at an MVP level, Domantas Sabonis is averaging a double-double, Malik Monk is a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Keegan Murray is growing into a real two-way threat, and they already beat some of the best teams in the West.
On the other hand, however, the injury bug bit them early, Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter are up-and-down, Davion Mitchell and Chris Duarte fell out of the rotation in favor of Keon Ellis and Sasha Vezenkov, and the Kings lost some ugly games.
Nevertheless, Kendrick Perkins predicted them to make some noise in the West.
Kendrick Perkins expects big things from the Kings
Perkins acknowledged the Kings’ up-and-downs but said that with Fox’s ability to take over games, Sabonis’ triple-double potential, and Monk’s energy off the bench, they were destined for success.
“They showed what they are capable of doing last year, getting into the postseason. I expect big things out of this team coming into this year’s postseason, at least getting to the second round,” he said on Friday’s show.
The Kings were fifth on his list behind the LA Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Denver Nuggets. In the NBA standings, the Kings are currently only trailing the Timberwolves, the Nuggets, the Thunder, and the Mavericks.
Out of the four teams ahead of them on Big Perk’s Big List, the Kings have only lost to the Clippers, and they share the same sentiment as Perkins. They want to win, they want to compete, and they believe that they can hang with the best teams in the West.
Now, they just have to execute at the highest level for the rest of the season and address some of the issues leading to those ugly losses to the Pelicans and the Clippers. Both are good teams, but the Kings should at least be competing with them instead of rolling over and letting Zion Williamson or Kawhi Leonard steamroll them.