One night after playing (and losing) to the Pelicans for the fifth time this season, the Kings get yet another opponent for the fifth time in the Phoenix Suns. Thanks to the quirks of the NBA In-Season Tournament, fate has granted both teams the opportunity to break a tiebreaker with a very important game tonight that means a lot for both team’s playoff chances.
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Friday, April 12th, 7:00 PM PT
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: NBC Sports California, NBA TV
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
Last Time
The Kings and Suns last met in mid-February in a high scoring affair that saw the Suns victorious, 130-125. De’Aaron Fox scored 40 points and Domantas Sabonis added a huge 35 point, 18 rebound and 12 assist triple-double but it wasn’t enough to overcome the suns. Kevin Durant led the way with 28 points while Devin Booker, Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen combined for 67.
Three in the Key
No time for excuses
The Kings head into tonight’s matchup with their playoff hopes on a razor’s edge; They sit tied record-wise with the Warriors and Lakers and a full two games back of the Suns. Phoenix is coming into tonight with a day of rest while the Kings had to play yesterday. The Suns are basically healthy while the Kings are without Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk. But if the Kings want to make the playoffs, they cannot afford to lose tonight. Losing tonight makes it increasingly likely that the Kings will be in the 9-10 scenario of the Play-In tournament instead of the 7-8 game. A win would mean that the Kings could still have homecourt against this very same Suns team in the Play-In. The Kings have nobody to blame but themselves if they miss out on the playoffs. Not even counting all the blown leads and bad losses earlier this season, the Kings have gone 1-4 in their last five games. In two of those losses, they held 20+ point leads. In another, they had three chances at a game-winner that came up short. All those missed opportunities are coming back to bite the Kings when it matters most, but they still have a chance to control their fate, they just need to buckle down and win.
Deal with the Small Ball
In both of the Suns wins against the Kings this year, they’ve done much better when they’ve switched over to small ball. That was what spurred the huge 22 point 4th quarter comeback and also their narrow victory in the last game. The Kings can’t afford to let that happen again. Hopefully there’s enough film from those two games that the Kings can throw some new stuff at Phoenix. The addition of Keon Ellis into the rotation is another wrinkle that the Suns won’t be used to and should hopefully help the Kings match up better when Phoenix goes small.
Keep Calm and Carry On
The Kings have been letting the officiating get to their heads a bit lately. De’Aaron Fox has received technicals in two straight games now for arguing about non-calls. It is frustrating to attack the basket, get hit and have nothing whistled while the other team gets to the line for similar contact. The Suns are one of the best teams in the league at getting to the line, mainly due to the efforts of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The Kings can’t let their frustration with the officials get into their head. Just play your game, stay physical and keep attacking. These games are too important.
Prediction
The Kings break through and finally win a close back and forth game and even hit their free throws down the stretch.
Kings 119, Suns 115
Standings Watch
No game is more important than their own for the Kings but there are other important ones.
The Lakers are on the road to take on the Grizzlies while the Pelicans are in San Francisco to take on the Warriors. Kings fans are rooting for Memphis and New Orleans tonight.
The scenarios are pretty simple now with just two games left. The Kings have the tiebreakers over both the Lakers and Warriors, so both those teams need to finish with a better record than the Kings. If the Kings win both of their remaining games, they’re automatically ahead of them and at least in the 7-8 spot. If the Kings win both their games and the Suns lose their final game in Minnesota, the Kings will have the 7th spot by virtue of the 3-2 season series. If the Kings lose any game, the best they can do is 8th.
After tonight the Lakers play the Pelicans in New Orleans on Sunday while the Warriors host the Jazz and the Kings host the Trail Blazers.
Fan Predictions
Link to Leaderboard (Updated 2/21/24)
Sure wish things were looking brighter;
But a win ‘gainst the Suns, makes things tighter.
Keep Booker surrounded,
KD and Beal grounded.
Don’t go down without being fighters!
+1 The Kings falling gives me “High Anxiety”!
thanks for the SEGABABA. Yay.
odds favor Phoenix, but the Kings have a shot. Might need Kessler’s fresh legs to help guard those Suns wings.
Kessler did a more than credible job on Booker in the past. I don’t see why he couldn’t do so again.
Not feeling good about tonight. Back-to-back, third game in four nights, and starters played a lot last night. Hope they prove me wrong, but not expecting anything much.
Sacramento Kings fandom: prepare for the worst, and still expect to be let down…
prepare for the worst…experience the worst. The Kings way
which i guess means, in a way, that we aren’t let down since reality met expectations! no wonder the past years on TKH and that other place before TKH were so fun
Doesn’t matter, the postseason will be more special after the Kings fight their way out of the ten-seed all the way to the WCF.
Most likely we lose today and beat Portland. Then what’s the play in look like?
Nah, we win today and lose to Portland. It’s that kind of season.
I was surprised they didn’t win last night and then lose these two.
I like your name. That 2018 draft was crazy. Didn’t realize that before
The peak of the organization.
And of the disorganization.
I’ll take 45 win season anytime over these 3 amigos combination
They held the standard…never forget that there were concerns that Luka’s father was possibly a prick.
I am glad they didn’t allow him the opportunity to corrupt the team.
Still the most insane decision a team has made in the draft in quite some time. They could have picked literally any of the other top-5 and been good to go. But they… didn’t… I had Bagley 7th or 8th on my personal board and said I thought he had the highest bust potential of any of the top guys. It was just so obvious at the time and yet Vlade knew better.
Read the “Standings Watch” in the game preview.
We need this. I need this. CWebb needs this. Eclipse the Suns
Is it correct if the Kings don’t make the formal playoff, they fall into the lottery and Atlanta doesn’t get the pick? If that’s the case, aren’t the Kings better off keeping/trading that pick rather than a quick playoff exit?
No, because the pick obligation then moves to next year and beyond and ties up Monte hands in dealing future assets to improve the roster.
Basically this year’s late lottery pick has little value and likely won’t land an impact player for the Kings. If, however, the pick is conveyed, the Kings then get ALL of their future pick obligations removed and Monte goes into summer with a full war chest.
Also, ATL is probably thrilled with the idea that the Kings may not make the playoffs. They’d likely prefer to get that pick next year, in a better draft, as it’s only protected 1-10.
I thought that might be the case. I thought at some point it conveyed to two second-rounders. I was being somewhat sarcastic simply because not long ago we were!t thinking much below the sixth spot, and certainly weren’t paying much attention to the Lakers and Warriors catching up. Unfortunate late-season injuries and a pretty brutal and tiring final schedule hasn’t helped. I think it’s tough to adjust losing Kevin and Malik fairly late and not having a deep enough bench to overcome it.
Yeah, it does convert into two seconds in 2026. Who knows, maybe Monte can work out some deal to get ATL to take the pick. There is something to be said about “bird in hand.” The Kings may go into a tail spin and it may never convey. ATL may really like someone at #13/14 and want it this year.
I’m of the mindset that I want the pick to convey sooner rather than later.
Does no one want Zach Edey? Don’t understand why he’s not higher on draft boards. Two time player of the year. 7’4”.
From what I’ve read, the common opinion is that he is not skilled or athletic enough to be a “modern” center. He can’t shoot beyond 6 ft. away from the basket and doesn’t have the foot speed to defend outside the paint.
Just like Wemby and Chad you will have to hire an Allstar center to play next to them.
The pick never conveying would be peak Kings LOL. If they lose Monk in the offseason without adding another creator I think that outcome becomes much more plausible.
Oh noes, we lost Kevin. What a laugh. What a farce. Losing Kevin was a blessing, facilitating what the coach was too chicken to do to get him out of the rotation or at least the starting lineup. Dude was a broken player missing badly on wide open looks worse than Marvin at his worst.
Kevin would come off DHOs taking 10 seconds off the shot clock and still unable to get a clean look. Keon by contrast gets clean looks barely trying. Keon messes around and gets a clean look.
Huerter tries with every pore and fiber in his being to get open and gets nowhere.
The team is better for his absence. God willing, he will never play another game for us. Get a drink or two in the head coach in private he will say the same thing.
Do I need to reiterate and for the upteenth time we would have faced LAL in Round 2 last year, and had a good chance to beat them, then face DEN, last year, if Huerter was not pure trash? In our 4 losses vs GSW Huerter was 3 for 17 from deep for 18%. He was 2 for 14 in Games 1 and 2 , games we won. He was a cerfitiable joke and choke artist.
I had hopes this season would be a redemption tour and a player on a redemption arc. Instead he regressed to a new low, the white Buddy.
Regretting the loss of Huerter, who initially was a pretty good to very good player, about a month before the playoffs would be akin to regretting the loss of Buddy Yield, a net negative in almost identical way, unable to keep his man in front of him and unable to make shots when it counts, and otherwise.
The only thing Huerter has over Buddy is he has not bad mouthed the organization, though he apparently did his fair share of griping over the threat of losing his job, the self-entitled one who draws a charge as often as an eclipse.
Already mentally gone, Buddy was 54% TS% in 55 games and 11.5 PER in the season we traded him (2021-22) for Domas. Huerter was 56% TS% and 12.4 PER in 64 games this year. These numbers differ a little in favor of the Red Diva but I contend their relative performances are NO different given Huerter played with two All-Stars and Buddy played with none, unless you want to contend Fox was an All-Star before being officially named, more or less.
If Buddy was undeniably expendable Huerter is undeniably in the same category. We don’t have time for a player to get their head right, to work through their confidence issues. If a player needs a psychologist and a Tony Robbins conference, the writing is on the wall.
Is it possible Huerter returns next year shoulder healed, lean and mean and over 40 percent from deep and making shots in the midrange when forced off the line. This bet is NO better than Keon doing the same with much better defense. And Keon has no mental hang-ups or playoff PTSD at 10X less the number of NBA minutes played: 992 minute versus over 11,000 minutes.
We need a Sucker to Take Huerter. Work your magic, McGenius.
If we end up with the pick, I say screw it and just draft Bronny. It’s a terrible draft anyhow, might as well have some fun with it. Who knows, maybe he can add to Stockton’s bench depth next season.
LOL. I read somewhere that Bronny hasn’t fully declared for the draft and may pull out last second. He also entered the transfer portal to leave USC, so it’s anyone’s guess.
My gut says he works out some wink wink deal with the Lakers to get a two-way deal to play with dad, all the while telling other teams not to draft him (much like Reeves). I’d be totally shocked if someone took the gamble of him as a first rounder.
I don’t think he’s an NBA player, but he’ll get a cup of coffee for being born well. Spending a first-round pick on him would be malfeasance by any GM.
Not even a good college player now . Undraftable based on talent .
It would have value. The draft might lack elite players at the top, but there seem to be plenty of good prospects.
First, I’d put money on the #13/14 pick in this draft not having any impact on the Kings rotation. They’d be getting someone eating into the minutes of a guy like Sasha or Davion.
Second, Put that late lottery pick in a trade with any of Barnes, Huerter, Lyles, and/or whoever not named Fox, Sabonis, or Keegan and you are getting lateral movement. It’s a guaranteed contact viewed as filler, and that’s about it.
In this draft I might actually put the odds higher of picks 10-14 making an impact sooner rather than later than picks 1-10. The problem with this draft isn’t that there aren’t any rotation players, it’s that there aren’t any franchise changing players. It’s why’d I’d almost rather just draft someone and hope you find a diamond in the rough like Hali because you’re not getting anything with that pick in a trade.
Recent “playoff level” games the Kings booted: Mavs twice, NY, BOS, OKC, and Pelicans. Win 2 of those 6 and we’re talking about the 6 seed, 7th as fall back. At this point 7th would be great, 8th acceptable.
I hope we somehow avoid a play in against the Warriors. I will be unwell if we lose to the Warriors two years in a row
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