Kings Rest of Season

A lot being made of the Fox stuff & the starting lineup conundrum, so to briefly get away from that here's an outlook for the Kings the rest of the way:

Currently tied for the 10th seed with the Warriors at 25-26, 4 games left until the ASB & 31 games left total. The Lakers in the 5 spot have begun to separate from the blob & we're currently 6 GB of them, leaving the 6-11 seeds including the Wolves, Clips, Mavs, Suns, Warriors and us separated by 3.5 games, with the Spurs and Blazers in the 12/13 spots as objects that are closer than they appear.

The Kings have a decently tough schedule remaining (worth noting the Suns have THE toughest schedule remaining) & the Kings are 11-16 against teams over .500 to this point. There's tons of tiebreakers to be had: 2 more against the Suns, Warriors, Clippers & Mavs. We don't play the Wolves again (2-2) & have one more against the Spurs/Blazers (1-2).

We're probably headed for the play-in, they could grab the 6 spot, but they'd have to play incredibly well the rest of the way. The most favorable realistic scenario is playing in the 7-8 game and winning. Ending as a 9-10 or losing the 7-8 game lines up with a play-in exit or a matchup against the Thunder. "Anything is possible" but the Thunder are eons better than us, whereas Memphis/Houston could actually be a fun matchup with a legitimate shot (looks like Houston slid to the 4, I wouldn't wanna see Denver either). But there's still a way the Kings could finally win a playoff series (or 2 if it lines up right) & have a successful season.

It all comes down to how the new look team fares, I think it's fair to believe they'll figure it out offensively, but the defensive issues are likely here to stay. 3 of 4 games before the ASB here are against the Pelicans, going 3-1 (or even 2-2) is passable & should buy the team some time together to feel more comfortable. If they come out of the ASB dropping games to Charlotte, Utah & Golden State, THEN it's time to panic.