Sacramento Kings: Playoff Contenders or Pretenders?

The Sacramento Kings have had a lopsided season. Perhaps the most confusing team in the NBA, they can go out and dominate the best teams in the league in an away game but will follow it up with a loss to an injury-riddled team at home.

The Kings roster recently held a players-only meeting, called by F Trey Lyles, and followed it up with a road win against the current 1-seed Minnesota Timberwolves without G De'Aaron Fox. With spirits running high, the Kings followed that game up in Sacramento against the Chicago Bulls but blew a 22-point lead in a 113-109 loss. 

Is it time to sound the alarms?

Not just yet. This type of thing has happened all season, and the players can go out and win important games when they are on the same page - as demonstrated by the Timberwolves win. The key to the remaining 22 games of the Kings season boils down to how often they can keep that mentality: if they fight and keep spirits high, they could easily make a playoff run. If they crumble, they could get bounced in the play-in.

As for the Kings' playoff outlook, they are currently the 7th seed in the West with their 34-26 record. They are one game behind the Phoenix Suns for the 6 seed and one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for the 8 seed. Ideally, Sacramento secures a top 6 finish to lock in a playoff appearance, but if that does not happen, staying above 8 is extremely important.

There is a bright side for the Kings - they should see some post-season play at a minimum. While anything could happen and the Kings could fall out of the play-in, it is very unlikely considering the 7-game gap between them and the 28-34 Utah Jazz. 

They also should still be contending for a top 6 finish. While it can be extremely frustrating to see Sacramento lose games that shouldn't have been close to a loss, the same thing is happening to other teams around them. The top 4 in the West are relatively set, barring any freak injuries or total collapses, but 5-10 is a complete toss-up. The final rankings in the West will ultimately come down to consistency and who wants it more - and Sacramento has wanted it for a long time.