Kings’ Rough Week Causes 5-Spot Fall In NBA Power Rankings
The Sacramento Kings have gone through a rough patch recently, losing 4 in a row and going 4-6 in their last 10 games. While some fans are sounding the alarms, not all hope is lost for the Kings. Some adjustments and internal mindset shifts should help, but the Kings need to make a change if they want to make a dent past the first round of this year's playoffs.
After an iffy past week, the Sacramento Kings had a big drop in ESPN's NBA Power Rankings. The Kings are ranked 14th this week after being 9th the previous week.
For reference, here is a list of all the teams above the Kings:
1. Boston Celtics
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Milwaukee Bucks
6. Dallas Mavericks
7. Los Angeles Clippers
8. Philadelphia 76ers
9. Miami Heat
10. Cleveland Cavaliers
11. New Orleans Pelicans
12. New York Knicks
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Sacramento Kings
The Kings' 5-place drop came after their three straight losses to the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Phoenix Suns. While road games are difficult, the Kings were blown out by the Joel Embiid-less 76ers, fell short in overtime to a clutch Damian Lillard buzzer-beater, and blew a 22-point 4th quarter lead in Phoenix.
Free throw issues continue to hurt the Kings, and it was no better against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. The Kings are already last in the NBA in FT%, and even though the Kings spent extra time in the pre-game shootaround on Thursday working on free throws, the Kings shot a miserable 18-32 from the line - equalling 56.3%.
The mental game is a small hurdle to get over, but until it is fixed, it will continue to drop the Kings in the rankings. Sacramento has fallen to 7th in the West at the halfway point of the season. While it certainly is not too late, the problems need to be addressed now for the Kings to become the electrifying and dominant team they are capable of being.
The Kings take on the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors in the next week.
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