Will The Kings Make The Playoffs?
- Thread starter Starting Five
- Start date
I am going to start sounding like a broken record to most of you, but...
I headed into this season with ZERO expectations. And I am continuing on through the rest of the season with ZERO expectations.
I've had expectations many times before, only to leave the regular season feeling disappointed and dejected. I can't do that crap any more.
I headed into this season with ZERO expectations. And I am continuing on through the rest of the season with ZERO expectations.
I've had expectations many times before, only to leave the regular season feeling disappointed and dejected. I can't do that crap any more.
Dunno that that's the way to think about it.
If 45 wins are what's needed, they'd need to go 38-31 from here on out to get there. This team is 7-2 over its last 9 and we know the two losses were controversial. Even assuming the Kings are unsustainably hot right now, 38-31 (or better) is more than plausible if they stay fairly healthy.
in re health: Fox may be their best player right now, but IMO Sabonis is their most indispensable. Sabonis has played 62 games in each of the last 3 seasons, so definitely a history there of missing a significant chunk.
But, yeah, a #5 or 6 seed definitely doable. I believe what I'm seeing.
If 45 wins are what's needed, they'd need to go 38-31 from here on out to get there. This team is 7-2 over its last 9 and we know the two losses were controversial. Even assuming the Kings are unsustainably hot right now, 38-31 (or better) is more than plausible if they stay fairly healthy.
in re health: Fox may be their best player right now, but IMO Sabonis is their most indispensable. Sabonis has played 62 games in each of the last 3 seasons, so definitely a history there of missing a significant chunk.
But, yeah, a #5 or 6 seed definitely doable. I believe what I'm seeing.
Who knows. The Kings look really good right now. If they play like this all season they for sure are in the 6-8 range. But the West is a gauntlet. The freaking Warriors aren't in the play in right now. The Wolves who are under us are still learning to play together. Utah looks much better than anyone thought. It's going to take a hell of a coaching job from Mike Brown, and really consistent play from both Fox and Sabonis every game, as well as one or two players on the bench stepping up as well.
It's a legitimate concern with Sabonis. It's true that the Kings essentially shut him down at the end of last season, but that was prompted by a knee injury. He also missed big chunks at the end of the last two seasons with plantar fasciitis and back soreness.
Hopefully the Kings can manage his minutes to keep him healthy down the stretch and ideally fresh for some postseason games.
Hopefully the Kings can manage his minutes to keep him healthy down the stretch and ideally fresh for some postseason games.
Yeah, although a little skewed by Fox only playing 9 minutes in that game he got hurt, (same with Keegan), the Kings currently don't have anyone playing over 32 MPG
Fox-32 MPG
Huerter-31.7
Sabonis- 31.7
Barnes-31.0
Murray-30.3
Monk-21.5
Mitchell-18.6
Lyles-14.6
Davis-13.8
Metu-12.0
For reference, Fox is 60th in the NBA in MPG and Sabonis/Huerter are 63rd. So Brown is really playing into the depth of the team. I think it does make a lot of sense, considering the injury history of Fox and Sabonis to help keep them fresh and playing a full season. And the Kings so far have been the healthiest team in the NBA, with that Fox game being the only missed time all season (we'll see with Keegan tonight), so it's paid off so far.
Fox-32 MPG
Huerter-31.7
Sabonis- 31.7
Barnes-31.0
Murray-30.3
Monk-21.5
Mitchell-18.6
Lyles-14.6
Davis-13.8
Metu-12.0
For reference, Fox is 60th in the NBA in MPG and Sabonis/Huerter are 63rd. So Brown is really playing into the depth of the team. I think it does make a lot of sense, considering the injury history of Fox and Sabonis to help keep them fresh and playing a full season. And the Kings so far have been the healthiest team in the NBA, with that Fox game being the only missed time all season (we'll see with Keegan tonight), so it's paid off so far.
The big thing currently is parity. Can you name any team since the start of the season that has dominated? Maybe the Buck and Boston, but outside of them? No one really stands out. The Lakers and Nets look awful. Jordan Poole and Draymond may be the poison in the Bay that the rest of the league prayed for. Blazers have looked good but not dominant, so I suspect that the difference between play off 6 to play in 10 could be as low as 4-5 games. It will be very close. I think that if they dont make at least the play-in with a mostly healthy team, it will be a huge disaster though.
I hope that I'll be proven wrong. As of right now I'd say no, unless they improve their defense I'm not quite convinced yet. They have been doing well lately, but even bad teams can do good in a short stretch of time. Also teams we didn't think would do well are doing better than expected. Example Portland and Utah.
I think we make the Play-in, maybe even win a game, but fall just short of the Playoffs. The West is really good.
Guaranteed ahead of us:
Phoenix
Denver
New Orleans
Memphis
LA Clippers
In the mix for final guaranteed spot/likely Play-in minimum:
Golden State
Portland
Dallas
Minnesota
Sacramento
In the mix for play-in spots:
Oklahoma City
LA Lakers
So there’s heavy competition for the play-in, let alone a top 6 spot. Of course, some teams will fall out via injury (Clippers?) or choosing to tank (OKC?). Plus, the Kings look flat out better than some of this teams. Who knows if GSW actually gets back to being good. Minny looks bad so far, Dallas is heavily Luka dependent, the Lakers suck but let’s see what trade(s) they make.
Before the season I saw us finishing in the 9-11 range. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if we finish anywhere from 6-11.
Guaranteed ahead of us:
Phoenix
Denver
New Orleans
Memphis
LA Clippers
In the mix for final guaranteed spot/likely Play-in minimum:
Golden State
Portland
Dallas
Minnesota
Sacramento
In the mix for play-in spots:
Oklahoma City
LA Lakers
So there’s heavy competition for the play-in, let alone a top 6 spot. Of course, some teams will fall out via injury (Clippers?) or choosing to tank (OKC?). Plus, the Kings look flat out better than some of this teams. Who knows if GSW actually gets back to being good. Minny looks bad so far, Dallas is heavily Luka dependent, the Lakers suck but let’s see what trade(s) they make.
Before the season I saw us finishing in the 9-11 range. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if we finish anywhere from 6-11.
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