Kings Ranked 8th Hardest Remaining Schedule After All-Star Break
The Sacramento Kings have struggled to find consistency this season but have pushed their way to eighth in the Western Conference, sitting at 31-23 at the All-Star break. The Kings were one of just two top 18 teams in the league that did not have an All-Star representative, sharing the title with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The lack of participants at All-Star weekend should have given the Kings time to rest up after playing 15 of their previous 19 games on the road. Sacramento went 8-7 in those away games and 2-2 at home, as they went into the All-Star break very shaky.
The tough road for the Kings is set to continue for the remainder of the season, boasting the eighth-hardest remaining schedule of any NBA team, based on opponent win percentage. The top ten follows:
1. Phoenix Suns - .564
2. San Antonio Spurs - .535
3. Milwaukee Bucks - .534
4. Utah Jazz - .522
5. Charlotte Hornets - .519
6. Portland Trail Blazers - .519
7. Los Angeles Clippers - .517
8. Sacramento Kings - .516
9. Philadelphia 76ers - .515
10. Los Angeles Lakers - .514
The Kings, who once sat comfortably at fifth in the West, have fallen to eighth after losing their groove and battling a challenging schedule. With one of the toughest schedules ahead of them, the Kings must find a rhythm and get back to doing what wins them games.
Sacramento's star big man Domantas Sabonis has been having the best season of his career, putting up more impressive numbers than almost anyone else in the league. His co-star, De'Aaron Fox, started the season in MVP talks but slowed down without explanation. The electric point guard started to pick his game back up before the All-Star break, but Sacramento will need him to get back to his MVP-caliber play to end the season.
Some of the Kings' toughest matchups are yet to come, including these notable games:
February 25th, @ Los Angeles Clippers
February 28th, @ Denver Nuggets
March 1st, @ Minnesota Timberwolves
March 12th, vs. Milwaukee Bucks
April 5th, @ Boston Celtics
April 9th, @ Oklahoma City Thunder
With just 28 games remaining until the postseason, the Kings must fight back into a top-six spot in the West to avoid the dreadful play-in tournament. Sacramento is just 1.5 games behind fifth and sixth place but only 3.5 games ahead of tenth. With little room for error, the last month and a half of basketball in Sacramento will certainly be something to monitor.
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