Sacramento Kings Enter Season Looking To End 15-Year Playoff Drought

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Whatever tiny signs of advancement the Sacramento Kings whitethorn person shown successful stretches the past 2 seasons nether manager Luke Walton, the extremity effect has been the aforesaid arsenic it’s ever been.

For 15 consecutive seasons, the Kings person missed retired connected the postseason, tied for the longest playoff drought successful NBA history.

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While the Kings participate their 3rd twelvemonth nether Walton with immoderate intriguing pieces, led by lightning-quick constituent defender De’Aaron Fox and poised second-year defender Tyrese Haliburton, they cognize the questions won’t halt until the drought does.

“Obviously, you don’t privation to beryllium portion of that and beryllium attached to that, but astatine the extremity of the time we conscionable person to interest astir what we tin do,” said Fox, who is entering his 5th play successful Sacramento. “When you’re retired there, for me, I can’t interest astir the 5 years I’ve been present oregon the 10-plus years earlier that. You conscionable person to spell retired determination and play.”

The Kings went 31-41 past play and finished tied for 11th successful the Western Conference, 2 games retired of the play-in tournament. That matched the grounds of futility acceptable by the Clippers franchise, which missed the playoffs 15 consecutive seasons from 1977-91 portion playing successful Buffalo, San Diego and Los Angeles.

This drought has been endured by lone 1 instrumentality base, successful Sacramento, and arsenic overmuch arsenic the Kings players privation to get to the postseason for themselves, delivering that for the fans is besides important.

“Obviously, we privation to let our fans to marque the playoffs,” Haliburton said. “We privation to bring the Kings backmost to the playoffs. That’s evidently the biggest goal. I don’t deliberation anybody wants that much than us.”

The Kings person played good successful stretches the past 2 seasons nether Walton but person been done successful by a fistful of agelong losing streaks.

They mislaid 9 consecutive games doubly past season, putting themselves successful a heavy spread aboriginal and past ending their playoff hopes precocious successful the season.

“If you chopped some of those successful half, we’re a wholly antithetic team,” Fox said. “We’re successful a wholly antithetic spot. Everybody’s happy. People are talking astir america making the play-in, perchance marque the playoffs, truthful that’s a ample chunk of the season. We conscionable person to proceed to bash what we’re doing and not fto those three-game losing streaks crook into 9 oregon 10.”

THREE GUARD LINEUP

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The spot of the Kings is successful the backcourt, particularly aft drafting Davion Mitchell ninth wide to articulation Fox, Haliburton and Buddy Hield. Because of that determination has been speech of playing 3 guards astatine a clip much often this season. That’s thing the guards invited but they cognize that it can’t hap unless they tin clasp up connected defence and rebounding.

“If we can’t, past evidently the 3 of america won’t beryllium capable to play unneurotic and manager is going to person to fig thing other out,” Fox said. “But we each privation to play together.”

DISMAL DEFENSE

One of the biggest issues for the Kings past play was connected the antiaircraft side. Sacramento’s opponents changeable a league-high 48.4% from the field, including 54.9% from wrong the 3-point arc. The Kings allowed the third-most points successful the league astatine 117.4 per game.

BACK IN TOWN

Throughout the offseason determination was uncertainty astir the presumption of Hield and guardant Marvin Bagley III. Both players were linked successful respective commercialized rumors passim the summertime but are backmost for different play successful Sacramento.

“That’s portion of the concern we’re successful today,” Bagley said. “It’s worldly I can’t control.

SCHEDULE STUFF

If the Kings privation to get disconnected to a accelerated start, they volition person to person occurrence connected the road. They unfastened the play with 9 of their archetypal 15 games distant from home. Sacramento past ends the play with 7 of 9 games connected the road, which could beryllium a large origin if the Kings are trying to marque a precocious playoff push.

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Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.