Power Rankings, Week of 12/5

[Spike]

Seems like others have noticed.
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NBA.com #20
Last Week:18↓
OffRtg: 114.2 (8) DefRtg: 113.6 (17) NetRtg: +0.6 (15) Pace: 98.7 (17)
The Kings got a (seemingly) good win in Minnesota on Wednesday, but that’s their only victory in their last seven games.
Three takeaways

• That game in Minnesota was a wild, back-and-forth affair in which the Kings blew a 14-point lead, but then came back from 12 points down in the fourth quarter with a 29-6 run to close the game. They’re one of two teams with multiple wins (they’re 2-8) when trailing by more than 10 points in the fourth.
• Malik Monk was the leading scorer (11 points) in that 29-6 run, two nights after he returned from a seven-game absence. And on Sunday (when DeMar DeRozan returned from two games out), Monk was in the starting lineup for the first time in 170 career games with the Kings. The Kings got off to a great start, but eventually blew a 17-point lead and couldn’t get stops down the stretch, allowing the Spurs to score 16 points on nine clutch possessions. There hasn’t been much beam lighting with the Kings now 4-7 (with four straight losses) at home.
• Now 2-7 in games decided by five points or fewer, the Kings are 9-12 with a positive point differential (better than those of the Lakers and Suns).

It would have been nice to get that win against the Spurs, because the Kings will now face the second-place Rockets and third-place Grizzlies for the first time, seeing the Spurs again in San Antonio on Friday.

ESPN.com #20

• 2024-25 record: 10-12
• Previous ranking: 18
  
• Next games: @ MEM (Dec. 5), @ SA (Dec. 6), vs. UTAH (Dec. 8)

The Kings snapped a four-game losing streak last Wednesday in Minnesota, but losses at Portland and at home to San Antonio left Sacramento continuing to tumble down the West standings. The Kings are now 12th in the conference, with several other postseason-worthy teams ahead of them in the play-in spots. The situation is dire enough that journeyman forward Jae Crowder went from unsigned free agent this time last week to starting two games for Sacramento in place of injured DeMar DeRozan. -- Pelton

CBS Sports #19
Maybe Tuesday's win over the Rockets will serve as a life preserver for the Kings, who have been drowning for most of the season. The one stat that seems to say it all: Last season, the Kings were third in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game ... this season, they're 24th.

NBC Sports #19
This says everything you need to know about the Kings’ search for answers right now: Jae Crowder went from unsigned journeyman to starting two games for the Kings last week. Sacramento can make a legitimate argument it has just been unlucky: The Kings have the fifth best clutch net rating in the NBA (+15.1 when games are within five points in the final five minutes) but are 5-8 in those games. The Kings have an overall net rating of +1.1, suggesting they should be 12-10, or at least 11-11, but instead they have dropped 6-of-8 and have slid down the West rankings. Maybe Tuesday’s win over a quality Rockets team starts to right the ship.

Mean Ranking: 19.5
Have we turned a corner? Analytics say yes, W-L says "not so fast."