The Sacramento Kings will win the 8th seed in the Western Conference
The Sacramento Kings are a real threat to win the 8th seed
At the end of this month, specifically July 30, the NBA’s restart plan is set to begin playing its eight “seeding” games ahead of the playoffs. In the Western Conference, there’s expected to be a pretty competitive fight for the 8th and final seed for the playoffs.
Five teams (and the Phoenix Suns) will be fighting for the final playoff spot. Entering the restart, the Memphis Grizzlies will have ownership of the 8th seed. The Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs are each just 3.5 games back of the Grizzlies. They’ll have eight games to make up ground before a possible playoff play-in tournament.
While many expect the Pelicans to emerge as the 8th seed in the West (with the collection of talent that they have on their roster, led by Zion Williamson), there’s one other team from the group that shouldn’t be overlooked. That’s the Sacramento Kings.
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Don’t doubt the Sacramento Kings
It’s easy to like the Pelicans, but with the way the Kings were playing at the time of the NBA’s stoppage, there’s reason to think that they could emerge to snag the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Before the hiatus was implemented, the Kings were playing the best out of each of the teams vying for the final playoff spot in the West. At 7-3 after the all-star break, you could make the argument that the Kings were playing their best basketball of the season.
In those 10 games, the Kings had the 9th ranked offense, 11 ranked defense, and 8th best net rating in the NBA. Entering the hiatus, they’ll also be returning Marvin Bagley who was injured in the middle of January.
He’ll be back and ready to go when the season restarts.
Led by De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, the team’s two top leading scorers, the Kings will be in a position to win the final playoff spot. What it could come down to, however, is how well their third and fourth-best players perform.
That onus falls on the likes of Bagley, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and veteran Harrison Barnes. If the Kings are going to make their presence known in the restart, one (or potentially two) of those players will need to have an impactful stretch.
Of course, this is under the assumption that Fox and Hield will continue to lead the way for the Kings. It’d be unfair to expect the Kings to simply pick up where they left off when the NBA entered a hiatus, but it’d also be foolish to count the Kings out.
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The Sacramento Kings have as good of a chance as any team to earn the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With the way they were playing before the hiatus, you can make the case that the Kings might have an upper hand heading into the restart.