Kings Report

There are at least two people sick this week: Malik Monk, who has missed three games in a row for the Sacramento Kings, and me. So, I am going to try my best to push through the brain fog and deliver something somewhat coherent. The Kings didn’t do me any favors this week. Like I always say, my job is so much easier when they win. But, unfortunately, we have to go all the way back to last Wednesday to find a win on the Kings’ schedule. And do you know what? That win, which came against the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference, was pretty epic, but the four losses between then and now make celebrating that win feel a little silly.

Let’s do a recap of this week, shall we? After beating the best team in the Eastern Conference, they blew a lead against the team everyone thought they could beat this week, the Chicago Bulls, on Thursday. They managed to get a lead on the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and then blew that lead by not scoring at all in the last four minutes of the game. Then, in one of the toughest back-to-backs of the season against the No. 2 in the Eastern Conference Boston Celtics on Monday and the No. 1 in the Western Conference Oklahoma City Thunder, they managed to keep up with Boston in the first quarter, and then it pretty much went downhill from there in both games, leading to their third and fourth losses in a row.

There were some bright spots. DeMar DeRozan made his 25,000th career point against the Bulls on Thursday, a milestone only 30 other NBA players have achieved, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by looking at him. When one reporter asked him what hitting that milestone makes him think about, DeRozan answered, “Umm, it really hasn’t hit me, you know, it sucks losing…(but) it’s always an honor to be able to play this game at a high level.”

The Kings are still in that 9th place spot in the Western Conference… barely. They are tied in both wins and losses with the Phoenix Suns, and they have the same number of wins and one less loss than the Dallas Mavericks, who just got back their newly acquired superstar, Anthony Davis, from injury. The road ahead is not looking easy for the Kings, and they are in danger of missing the play-in tournament altogether.

The Kings play the last game of their seven-game home stand on Thursday, March 27th, against the Portland Trailblazers, who are just 3.5 games behind the Kings in the standings. Then they start a six-game road trip, first against the Orlando Magic on Saturday, March 29th, then against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, March 31st, and the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, April 2nd. There is no time to slow down. Go Kings!