The Sacramento Kings have shown flashes of their full potential this season but haven’t been able to hit their stride through the first month of NBA action. Sitting perfectly even with eight wins and eight losses, the Kings need to find a way to establish themselves at the top of the Western Conference.
The Kings slipped five spots into 12th place in Bleacher Report’s new power rankings. A two-loss week didn’t support Sacramento’s case to stay at the top. Three different seven-loss teams including the Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, and Orlando Magic are now ahead of the Kings.
B/R analyst Andy Bailey thinks Sacramento still has plenty to look forward to this season, but the shooters will need to turn it around if they want to win games consistently.
And for the season, [De’Aaron Fox] is now averaging a career-high 28.8 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.2 threes. If he can keep that up (or anything close to it) as the supporting players find their rhythm from the outside, Sacramento should remain in the playoff hunt. Right now, Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, and Doug McDermott are shooting a combined 30.2 percent from deep.
– Andy Bailey, B/R
In Friday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Kings were not able to get it going from beyond the arc. Sacramento shot a disastrous 7-for-35 from downtown in a performance that mimicked their first game against the Clippers this season when the team shot 3-for-26 from three.
Kevin Huerter, who has started most games for Mike Brown’s squad this season, hasn’t been able to find his shot. Over the past two games, he’s made only one three from 14 attempts. If he can find a way to turn it around, the Kings could build some rhythm and maybe launch a winning streak instead of going back and forth in the win-and-loss columns.
Sacramento will host the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night in what should be a good opportunity to build some momentum.
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