Kings Report – 1/29

We’ve come back down to reality after the Sacramento Kings’ four-game win streak and settled into our rightful place at 14th in the Western Conference standings, dangerously close to last, with just one win separating us from the 15th-place New Orleans Pelicans. Don’t get me wrong, I was never under the illusion that this team was about to go on some magical run and sneak into the playoffs, but it was nice to watch the Kings win for a while. And writing about a winning team is exponentially easier than writing about a losing one.

It wasn’t all bad, of course; there are always bright moments. After an absolutely horrendous 2–16 start in the first eight minutes, I actually thought the Kings might pull off a comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers when they took the lead with 3:45 left in the fourth quarter. Rookie Dylan Cardwell looked great on the defensive end in crunch time, but unfortunately, the Kings couldn’t hit a bucket to save their lives and fell to the Cavaliers, 118-123.

The Kings also tried to pretend they weren’t going to disappoint me for the first seven-eighths of the game against the New York Knicks, who, you’ll remember, we actually beat last week during Coach Mike Brown’s return to the Golden 1 Center. Of course, Jalen Brunson was not injured this time around, but the Kings still made a game of it until literally the final four minutes of the game before losing by 20 points. I don’t know how I’ve started counting short stretches where it felt like we had a chance as bright spots, but that’s where we are.

With the All-Star break approaching, it’s no surprise the Kings are nowhere to be found in any of the weekend’s events. Our best shot at representation was likely the Rising Stars game, thanks to seven-foot center Maxime Raynaud, who has spent time on the NBA’s Rookie of the Year ladder and landed at No. 7 this week. The second-round pick has seen his minutes dip since the return of Domantas Sabonis, but Raynaud has shown enough promise to keep fans intrigued. With any luck, we’ll get to see more of him as the season progresses, because unrealized potential at least gives you something to believe in.

Hopefully the Kings will give us at least one win as they continue their road trip next week, first in Philadelphia against the 25-21 76ers on Thursday, January, 29th, before heading to Boston to play the 29-17 Celtics on Friday, January 30th. They’ll then head to Washington to play a team with a worse record than theirs, the 11-34 Wizards, on Sunday, February 1st, and then to Memphis to take on the 18-26 Grizzlies on Wednesday, February 4th. Go Kings!