Sacramento Kings: Playoff hopes slipping after three straight losses

The Sacramento Kings find their playoff hopes slipping by the day as they drop to 0-3 in the NBA’s restart.

Heading into the NBA’s restart, the Sacramento Kings appeared to be a dark horse candidate to compete for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot.

However, the team has lost three consecutive games since the restart kicked off, and their postseason aspirations continue growing slimmer.

The first loss came at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, who delivered it in devastating fashion. Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox had a career-night with 39 points as Bogdan Bogdanovic chipped in 20 points of his own.

As stellar as those two were, the rest of the team could not keep pace, as everyone else combined to shoot 21-for-47 from the field, including an abysmal 5-for-20 from 3-point territory.

The Kings walked away with a 129-120 defeat, looking to bounce back against the Orlando Magic in the coming days. This time it was Harry Giles with the career-night as he scored 23 points, but once again, the Kings fell short in the end.

After building up a double-digit lead in the opening quarter, the Magic never looked back and coasted the rest of the way to pick up the 132-116 victory. Sacramento looked sluggish at best, unable to get anything going on either side of the floor to keep them in the game.

In their third game, Sacramento came out with the urgency they lacked against their first two opponents. Taking on the postseason-bound Dallas Mavericks, the Kings appeared to be in the driver’s seat for a majority of the game with the lead.

However, a late-game collapse and fantastic performance from Mavericks’ phenom Luka Doncic was too much for the Kings as Dallas handed them a 114-110 loss in overtime.

Although it came in a loss, the game against the Mavericks showed hope for the team moving forward, if there is any remaining.

Sacramento played as if this were a must-win game, and will have to continue doing so in their next five games or the season will conclude as a disappointment.

With losses to the San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic, and the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings are not off to the start they hoped for.

In their remaining five seeding games before the playoffs begin, the Kings have significant room to gain in the standings if they are going to compete for that eighth seed.

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Are the Sacramento Kings already too far gone?

In this final stretch, they will take on the New Orleans Pelicans twice, the Brooklyn Nets, the Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Right now, the Sacramento Kings have their backs up against the wall, with the odds stacked against them.

Sacramento and Memphis are currently the only two of the six teams competing for the Western Conference’s eighth seed that have not won a game in the restart, which has some pondering the idea that they might go winless.

While some of their upcoming matchups appear winnable, the Kings have shown little urgency in the restart to this point to make anyone believe they can spark a turnaround.

However, after an 0-3 start, perhaps Tuesday’s heartbreaker against Dallas could serve as a turning point to get things going after the energy they showcased.

The Kings are currently standing on their last leg, and if the losses continue adding up, they will be heading home earlier than they previously envisioned.

With other competitors gaining ground on the eighth seed, the Kings might have already dug themselves into a hole they cannot get out of, but do not count out this young squad just yet.