Sacramento Kings: Challenging road to the playoffs will test young team

The Sacramento Kings have all odds against them in making a playoff run in the resumed season.

Heading into the Orlando bubble next month with a 28-36 record, the Sacramento Kings will face an uphill battle as they try and fight their way into the postseason.

The team appears to have all of the necessary pieces to make a run, which could ultimately break their seemingly never-ending playoff drought. However, it will be far easier said than done.

Sacramento’s schedule will have its challenges, but also some games that are front and center for the taking. Here are those eight games and their tentative dates.

• San Antonio Spurs on Friday, July 31 at 5 p.m. PT
• Orlando Magic on Sunday, August 2 at 3 p.m. PT
• Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, August 4 at 11:30 a.m. PT
• New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, August 6 at 10:30 a.m. PT
• Brooklyn Nets on Friday, August 7 at 2 p.m. PT
• Houston Rockets on Sunday, August 9 at 5 p.m. PT
• New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, August 11 at 6 p.m. PT
• Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, August 13 — Time TBD

Overall, the Kings did not amount to much success cumulatively over this group, as they finished with a mere 3-9 record against them this season. At the moment, hardly anyone is giving the Sacramento Kings a legitimate chance to take the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

After the schedule got released, The Ringer put out a poll on who fans believe will take the eighth seed, but only included the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, and New Orleans Pelicans. Kings guard De’Aaron Fox took displeasure to this, replying with the following tweet.

While everyone has the Pelicans, Blazers, or Grizzlies locked in at the eighth seed, the Kings could still make a run. With everyone counting them out, this team is undoubtedly highly motivated to come out of the gates firing and make some noise in Orlando next month.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

Do the Sacramento Kings genuinely have a chance for the eighth seed?

Many tend to forget that the Sacramento Kings were among the hottest teams in the entire association at the time the season halted, going 10-5 in their previous 15 games.

Although that momentum will not be present when the NBA resumes, hopefully, the team can attempt to pick up right where they left off.

Out of the 22 teams returning to play in Orlando, the Kings have the 15th hardest ranked schedule in total.

Not having the Grizzlies on their upcoming schedule stings because the team currently sits 3.5 games behind them for the eighth seed and will not be able to make up any ground against them first hand.

Regardless, all the Kings can do is win the games on their schedule and hope for the best. Five of their eight games will come against teams under .500 and are all winnable games for Sacramento.

The other games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks will prove challenging, but in this desperate scenario, anything is possible.

It will be a challenging fight for the eighth seed, and at the moment, it appears that Sacramento is already out of the picture for many. Nevertheless, in this irregular scenario heading into the bubble, it seems like nothing should come as a surprise from this point forward.

The road ahead will prove challenging for the inexperienced Kings, but keep an eye on them when the NBA resumes next month as they contend for the eighth seed.

The team has their back up against the wall right now, but hopefully, they come out with something to prove on July 31st against the San Antonio Spurs.