NEW ORLEANS -- Losing never feels good. Especially when you are clinging to the slightest bit of hope for a postseason berth.
With the 121-118 loss to the Pelicans on Thursday night, the Kings’ magic number for elimination is down to just one. Sacramento would need to finish 7-0 on the remaining schedule and have either the Spurs or the Thunder to lose all of their remaining games.
It’s a grim proposal for the Kings, and the conversation is shifting to how they can improve for next season.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“We’ve got to be able to pick up the slack defensively and just try to take that into next year,” De’Aaron Fox said. “I don’t think that’s changed after losing this game, we still go out and try to win every game.”
Since the All-Star break, the Kings haven’t looked like themselves. Losing a stack of tough games in the closing moments has taken some of the shine off their breakout season.
“We’ve got to finish, man, we’ve got to finish games,” Buddy Hield said. “That’s our biggest downfall right now, not finishing games. It sucks, but that’s what’s killing us.”
The team’s inability to close out games is a huge issue. Losses to quality teams like the Nuggets, Warriors, Bucks and Celtics in the games surrounding the All-Star break initially didn’t set off alarms. When those same trends started to happen against lesser opponents, they failed to make the necessary adjustments as a team.
NBA
“If we don’t learn, something is wrong with us,” Hield added. “We need to figure out how to win games and finish at a high level and on a high note. It sucks to see us not do that because we are young guys and we want to succeed so bad and we all want to show everybody that we can do it.”
While elimination is coming, this is still an extremely successful season for Sacramento. Slated to win just 25.5 games by Las Vegas oddsmakers, the Kings have destroyed that prediction and posted a 10-game improvement over last season’s win total with a brick of games still to come.
“Just keep playing, keep pushing, keep fighting,” rookie Marvin Bagley said of the team’s mindset. “Make sure we make it out healthy. Make sure we don’t get hurt. Make sure we play as hard as we possibly can and just keep pushing through this.”
Roster adjustments are coming, but the core of this team is entact for next season. This is the group that must show improvement if they hope to break the franchise’s 12-year playoff drought.
[RELATED; Joerger calls Bagley the Rookie of the Year]
The fact that the Kings aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with seven games in the season is a remarkable feat in itself. Sacramento is just one win away from matching their best record in 11 seasons and they still have an opportunity to finish over the .500 mark on the season.
With loftier goals, the Kings aren’t looking for moral victories, but they have been given an unexpected crash course in what a playoff chase feels like. Hopefully they are better for the experience.