The Kings’ main goal for this season was to improve from a decent team to a great one while carrying over their newfound success from the previous campaign.
Even if there have been some difficulties along the way 54 games into the 2023–24 NBA season, there is still a long way to go before Western Conference dominance is achieved.
According to Tankathon, Sacramento’s remaining 28 regular-season games rank as the eighth-most challenging schedule out of all 30 teams in the league, and the team is presently ranked eighth in the competitive Western Conference (31-23).
The Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers (twice), Denver Nuggets, and Milwaukee Bucks are the toughest opponents the Kings have left.
The Kings will face a top-six club, either East or West, twelve times in the next eight weeks, and a top-three team, seven times. They will go to two highly unfriendly venues to take on the current leaders of their respective conferences, the Timberwolves and Celtics.
Sacramento is now half a game behind the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks and 1.5 games behind the 33-22 New Orleans Pelicans, who now hold the sixth and last playoff place.
The Kings’ two home games against the Mavericks on March 26 and 29 might have a significant impact on the standings. On April 11, they will also play their third-to-last game against the Pelicans.
Eight games will also feature current non-playoff (Nos. 1-6 seed) or play-in (Nos. 7–10) teams. These teams will face the San Antonio Spurs (15th in West), the Houston Rockets (12th in West), the Memphis Grizzlies (13th in West), the Toronto Raptors (12th in East), the Washington Wizards (14th in East), the Brooklyn Nets (11th in East), and the Portland Trail Blazers (14th in West).
Although it would be great if Sacramento could win those games and go 8-0, this Kings squad hasn’t been able to achieve that this season. But if they hope to improve their prospects of earning a postseason berth, their infamous ways need to end.
The Kings will host the Spurs, Rockets, Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Grizzlies for a six-game homestand starting in early to mid-March at Golden 1 Center. Of course, one or two more victories would be great, but they should win at least three of those games.
Sacramento is now 16-14 away from home and 15-9 on its home court.
The Kings, who are led by Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, will need both their key players’ unwavering domination and their dependable depth to put together a good performance in the latter part of the regular season.
There’s no time to make excuses or tolerate humiliating defeats. On Thursday, the journey to greatness begins at home against the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama. The remainder of the last stretch can be determined by the game.
Though the Kings undoubtedly possess what it takes, it won’t be simple.
