By Mardeio Cannon | OBSERVER Columnist
The Sacramento Kings 2023-24 record through Tuesday was one game better than last year’s team. However, the Kings are in an uphill battle this year just to make the NBA playoffs in the tough Western Conference. The Kings are in a battle with the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks to finish the season in fifth or sixth place and avoid play-in games. These teams, as I write this column, are separated by only one game.
These teams also have to worry about the NBA’s “blue bloods,” the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, lurking in the background. If one or both heat up during the streak, six teams will battle it out for sixth place or better.
If the Kings finish below sixth place and have to fight their way into the playoffs through play-in games, they will look back on their season and their performance against teams lacking key players.
Your Sacramento Kings competed and performed well against all the top teams at full strength. However, I have witnessed home games where teams were missing not only their star player, but several key players as well, and the Kings let those games, which they should have won, slip through their fingers.
In a recent game against the worst team in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons, the Pistons were missing star Cade Cunningham and still won with three G League players being cut the next day. In the Kings’ last home game, the Miami Heat were missing star Jimmy Butler and key players Tyler Herro and Thomas Bryant, and the Kings let a rookie, Jaime Jaquez, run them off the court.
After last season’s success, the Kings are desperate to make the playoffs and win in the first round.
However, if the Kings don’t overcome their mental block against inferior teams or lacking key players, they will miss the playoffs and that would be a shame.
