Following last night’s loss to the Boston Celtics, the Kings are now back under .500 after losing 7 of their last 9 games, and only a half game ahead of the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in the standings. The Kings are in real danger of slipping out of the Playoff race altogether, and having to play the league leading Oklahoma City Thunder on the second night of a back to back doesn’t inspire confidence in a quick turnaround.
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Tuesday, March 25th, 7:00 PM PT
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: TNT
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140 AM
For Your Consideration
The Sacramento Kings are in a bit of a free fall right now. Despite playing some decent basketball at times over the last couple of weeks, the Kings have yet to find a consistent rhythm, and in particular they have done a terrible job of closing out games. They’ve been blown out, beaten right at the end, given up double digit leads, and basically figured out anyway to lose they can. Just a few weeks ago the Kings still had some hope of making the Playoffs without needing to be in the Play-In. Now they’ll just be happy to be in the Play-In with both the Suns and Mavericks lurking just behind.
This has been an absolutely brutal stretch to be sure, with this back to back being one of the toughest you could possibly have in the league as the Kings will have to take on the 59-12 Oklahoma City Thunder on the second night of a back to back after playing the Boston Celtics last night. The Thunder have had a remarkable year, emerging as not just the best team in the NBA but up there statistically with some of the best teams ever. This team is legitimately 12 deep, possessing the best Defensive Rating in the NBA and 3rd best Offensive Rating. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having another MVP-caliber season, and this time, he’s probably going to win the award. He’s leading the league in scoring at 32.8 points a game, a career-high and the third straight year he’s been at 30+. In many other years he’d probably be an unanimous MVP, but we live in a world where Nikola Jokic exists.
SGA leads a fantastic Thunder supporting cast that is liable to see anyone go off. Just look at the last time the Kings played the Thunder where Aaron Wiggins went off for a career-high 41 points. The Thunder have been so good this year that they only have two losses by double digits all season, and the worst one was only 15 points. They turn the ball over the least in the NBA, while also forcing the most turnovers. They beat you on both ends of the court and they never stop working. They haven’t done anything in the playoffs yet so they haven’t really earned a ton of league-wide respect, but this Thunder team might be the best Thunder team ever assembled, and that’s saying something considering they used to have a roster with three future MVPs on it at once. I am once again wondering how Sam Presti hasn’t gotten a godfather type deal from some billionaire to run their team.
For the Kings, this seems like a really unlikely game to win. Zach LaVine seems off right now, everyone is banged up, and the chemistry just hasn’t been there. The Kings haven’t been able to be consistent enough on both ends to get anything solid going. This team still has the talent to beat any team on any given night (just see the Cleveland Cavaliers victory), but they haven’t been able to put it together on a consistent basis. Meanwhile, consistency is basically the name of the game for the Thunder.
There’s few outcomes that would surprise me in this game, aside from the Kings straight blowing out the Thunder. I have a feeling the opposite is more likely to happen, but I’ll be glad to be proven wrong.
Prediction
No matter how this game goes, I guarantee I will get mad about the calls that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets.
Kings 140 or 100, Thunder 135
