33 wins. Doesn’t that tie the most wins in a season for the Cousins’ era? With 17 games left in this season. They are close to my very optimistic pre-season low number of 34 and are certain to exceed my upper limit of 37.
They are a long shot to make the playoffs, but they are still in it. In March. Normally by this time they would have already been mathematically eliminated.
They have 9 very winnable games left, Wiz (A), Bulls (H), Mavs (H), Suns (H), Lakers (A & BB), Mavs (A), Pels (A), Cavs (H), and Pels (H). Win those and they are at 42 wins. None of those games are gimmees however, 4 are road games with Lakers being a road BB. I would not be surprised to see the Kings falter once or twice. But the opportunity is there.
The remaining 8 difficult games are Celts (A), 76ers (A&BB), Nets (H), Rockets (A), Spurs (A), Rockets (H), Jazz (A & BB), and Blazers (A). Only two home game and one is the Rockets who they do not match up with well.
A 44/45 win total has been bandied around as capturing the 8 seed. So, they would need to win all 9 “winnable” games and somehow manage to win 2 or 3 of the difficult games. A daunting task indeed, but not impossible. That may still only tie them for the 8th seed, but hopefully with the Spurs who they hold the tiebreaker over.
Playoffs or no playoffs, it is still winding down to be an outstanding season holding a lot of promise for the future. A great job by Vlade, Joerger and his staff, and all of the players including the ones that have left us. The players have shown growth and maturity, but none of the younger players have topped out yet. Plenty of room for more growth in the coming season. The future is bright