The Kings have won 4-straight games for the first time this season, defeating the Rockets, Lakers, Knicks, and Wizards. They’ve won each of these games by 10+ points, and face the Portland Trail Blazers tonight to see if they can extend the streak to 5. Let’s get into it.
Who: Sacramento Kings (12-30) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (21-22)
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
When: 6:00 PM PT / 9:00 PM ET
Watch: NBCSCA / League Pass
The Kings are playing some good basketball right now, and that includes the returning Domantas Sabonis. The Kings center hadn’t played since mid-November, and returned to the lineup on Friday against the Wizards. In 20 minutes off the bench, Sabonis dropped 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on 5/6 shooting from the field, and looked pretty comfortable out there.
Great sign for Domas, bad sign for the tank.
At the moment, the Kings are playing about as well as anyone could reasonably expect. If fans want to enjoy it that, go ahead. I’m not going to tell you what to celebrate, but I am going to share the other side of the coin. The problem is that the ceiling for this team, both heading into the year, and right now on January 18, is making the play-in game. They have played well below that ceiling for most of the year, hence the unintentional tank ride we’ve been on for most of the season, but they always had this potential. They’re getting healthier. They’re getting more comfortable with each other. But we’re still looking at a play-in ceiling.
And that is a dangerous ceiling, particularly when your team is as old and veteran-reliant as the Kings are.
Thankfully Brooklyn also won their game on Friday night, so the Kings still hold the 4th worst record in the league, but Sacramento also has one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NBA. They’ve got to be careful. With 10 games remaining before the trade deadline, the vets can still do some damage to the tank before some of them are shipped out, if that’s the plan. That’ll require Scott Perry to turn what has been an accidental tank thus far into a very intentional tank and youth movement.
It’ll also require ownership to be on board, and these recent victories could quickly turn Vivek Ranadive into a believer. That’s where the organization can really get themselves into trouble.
Go Kings, but don’t go too well.
Prediction: Kings 117, Blazers 108.