The 10-Game stretch that will make or break the Sacramento Kings' season

Technically speaking, all regular season games are created equal. However, we'd be losing the human element in all of this if we didn't factor in timing and momentum when talking about regular season scheduling.

With this in mind, while not marked like a spot on a map, every team in every NBA season has a stretch of games that end up making or breaking them. In honor of this, we decided to spotlight the ten-game stretch that will make or break our Sacramento Kings this season.

But before we do that, let's take a quick look at the Kings' full schedule for the 2024-25 regular season.

The Kings Make Or Break Stretch

Now that we have the calendar in front of us, we can point out which part of the schedule will be the most critical. For me, those days go from March 9 to March 25. Here are all ten of the games they play during that time.

Why Is This The Make Or Break Stretch?

Some of you may look at this stretch and wonder: How does the Kings' hardest ten-game stretch only include three road games?

That type of thinking is myopic and fails to account for two important variables: the time of the season and the strength of opponents.

This stretch of games takes place less than a month before the start of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. If the Kings don't handle this stretch well, they could take a nosedive in the standings. And since the season is almost over at that point, they won't have the time to reverse the damage done.

Recall last year how quickly the Kings fell from sixth to nine at the end of the year because of the injuries (to Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter they endured). The Western Conference is a tough place, and one minor slip could cost you multiple spots in the standings.

It also won't be easy to make it through that stretch unscathed. Outside of the directionless Chicago Bulls, every team we have listed above should be competing for a playoff spot next season.

Six of those teams – the New York Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies (who I am really high on), Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Oklahoma City Thunder – have a legitimate chance of claiming a high seed in their respective conference. The latter two (the Celtics and Thunder) are the two teams expected to rank first out East and West (respectively).

The point is that this slate of games doesn't offer too many built in wins for the Kings. If the Kings aren't careful, things could get ugly for them quickly. But if they survive it, they will be in a great spot heading into the 2025 Playoffs. Ultimately, this is the fork in the road that (I think) will play the largest part in telling the story of the Kings' 2024-25 regular season.