What the Kings Must Do to Ensure a Playoff Berth
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Photo by Hector Amezcua/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
There was a time this season that the Sacramento Kings were projected as the eighth seed in the Western Conference and were in position to snap a nine-season drought from the playoffs. But currently, the Kings finally snapped their four-game losing streak after beating the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-104. However, that four-game losing streak dropped them out of the eighth seed to 10th in the West:
So with the All-Star Break coming up soon, what must Sacramento do to break its long playoff drought?
One thing that Sacramento must do is keep the chemistry intact.
There have been rumors flying around as of late that the Kings are willing to trade forward Rudy Gay, for the right price. If Sacramento decides to trade Gay, it would be a foolish mistake.
It takes awhile for a player to adapt to head coach George Karl’s system. Given how Gay is a big part of the team, trading him would blow up the already solid team chemistry and affect the productivity of point guard, Rajon Rondo.
Gay and Rondo are good friends. So if the Kings want to keep Rondo around for years to come, which they do, it would be wise to keep Gay around.
So keeping Gay in Sacramento would be a wise move to keep chemistry intact, considering how fragile of position the organization is in right now.
While keeping the chemistry going with this team would be a good move to ensure a playoff spot, playing stronger defense would be helpful as well.
The Kings’ defense this season has been less than impressive. Sacramento ranks near the bottom of virtually every statistical defensive category in the NBA.
During their four-game losing streak, they gave up an average of 119 points. On the season, Sacramento has been allowing 108.1 points per game which is fourth worst, No. 26, in the league.
To go along with that poor ranking, the Kings are allowing opponents to shoot 45.5 percent from the field, No. 20 in the NBA, and 35.6 percent from the three-point line, No. 18 in the league.
While having to improve on their defense, Sacramento needs to keep on lighting up the scoreboards and be the entertaining team they are.
Although the Kings may possess one of the worst defenses in the league, they possess an exciting, fast-paced offense.
Sacramento is one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA. They average 106.7 points, which is good for sixth in the league. They also have the seventh-best field goal percentage, 46 percent, and 10th-best three-point percentage, 35.9 percent.
The Kings must also keep on feeding All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, who leads NBA centers with an average of 27 points while shooting 44.4 percent from the field:
Also, the Kings must ensure that forward Omri Casspi is still attempting threes. Casspi is one of the top three-point shooters in NBA. Out of players who attempt at least four-plus threes per game, Casspi is tied for third with Indiana Pacers guard George Hill, averaging 43.7 percent from behind the three-point arc.
If the Kings do these things, it will help their chances of breaking the playoff drought. However, with the way the Portland Trail Blazers (five-game win streak) and the Utah Jazz (three-game win streak) are trending right now it may be a tough uphill battle for Sacramento.