Updated situation in the Playoff race:
6. LAC, 31-26, - -
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7. MIN, 32-27, - -
8. GSW, 31-27, 0.5 GB
9. DAL, 31-28, 1.0 GB
10. SAC, 29-28, 2.0 GB
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11. PHX, 27-31, 4.5 GB
I haven’t included the Spurs as they are now tied with Portland and are veering towards the tank race and not the play-in race. Phoenix is out of the picture for top 6, their only hope is the play-in. I want to say, barring injuries, the Kings ceiling is the 9 seed right now.
Our head to head record against each team in the race (important for potential tiebreakers):
vs LAC, 0-2
Mar 9 @ LAC
Apr 11 vs LAC
vs MIN, 2-2
vs GSW, 2-1
Mar 13 @ GSW
vs DAL, 2-0 (Tiebreak clinched)
Mar 3 @ DAL
vs PHX, 2-0
Mar 14 @ PHX
Apr 13 vs PHX
Teams ranked by toughest remaining strength of schedule to easiest (league SOS ranked in parentheses):
1. Phoenix, .558 (#1)
2. Sacramento, .544 (#2)
3. LA Clippers, .531 (#7)
4. Dallas, .494 (#19)
5. Golden State, .492 (#21)
6. Minnesota, .439 (#29)
Looks like Minnesota is an absolute lock to stay ahead of us, even if Randle stunts their momentum their schedule is so easy and ours is so hard that it’s impossible to catch them.
GSW would likely need a serious injury or two to give a chance to surpass them.
Dallas has an easy schedule but their injuries may have them in a race to #9 with us.
Can’t see Phoenix catching us, their situation is toxic and they have an insane schedule.