Domantas Sabonis on wild West standings: ‘Not gonna lie, everyone looks at it every day’
Domantas Sabonis is just like everyone else trying to figure out who the Kings are going to play to open in the playoffs in the convoluted Western Conference chase.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Sabonis said before Tuesday’s road game against the New Orleans Pelicans, “everyone looks at it every single day.”
That’s because whom Sacramento plays in the opening round of the playoffs remains very much in the air. The Kings entered Tuesday at 47-31 in the No. 3 seed in the West with an 88.7% chance of staying there with four games remaining, according to Basketball Reference.
Which means they will likely play the No. 6 seed, where four teams are fighting for position during the season’s final week, including Tuesday’s opponent, New Orleans.
Going into Tuesday’s games, the Los Angeles Clippers (41-38), Golden State Warriors (41-38), Los Angeles Lakers (40-38) and Pelicans (40-38) were separated by half a game in seeds five through eight, while each was tied in the loss column.
Only two of them are likely to avoid the play-in tournament, while the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds — currently the Minnesota Timberwolves (39-40) and Oklahoma City Thunder (38-41) — have the best chance at rounding out the play-in.
But Sabonis indicated the Kings don’t have control over the matter, save for their games Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday against the Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks and Warriors, which Sacramento will try to win in order to stay sharp ahead of the playoffs beginning.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “We look at it because we’re fans of the the sport. But whatever happens, happens.”
Per Basketball Reference, those four teams have a roughly equal chance of getting the No. 6 seed. The Warriors have the highest probability at 29.5%, while the Clippers (22.1%), Lakers (21.8%) and Pelicans (21.8%) are separated by decimal points.
But there might be a benefit for Sacramento over the next three games against teams vying for seeding or, in the Mavericks’ case, trying to keep their playoff hopes alive.
“We’ve played a couple teams below-.500 and we weren’t locked in last game (Sunday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs),” Sabonis said. “So playing against teams that are fighting for position is obviously a good thing, in terms of where we are right now.”
The Kings might have been suffering from a late-season malaise in their Sunday loss to the Spurs, who were sitting a handful of their core rotation players and have a chance to lock in one of the four worst records in the NBA, ensuring the highest odds possible to draft generational prospect Victor Wembanyama.
Bouncing back and staying sharp is Sacramento’s mindset with four games remaining before the organization hosts playoff games for the first time since 2006. A win Tuesday would give the Kings their first Pacific Division title since 2002-03.
“Keep winning, making sure we keep those good vibes going,” Sabonis said. “Making sure we’re staying healthy, everyone’s good. It’s the same thing. Nothing changes for us. Even after we clinched, we still want to win these next four games.”
Kings’ possible first-round opponents
Warriors (29.5% chance)
Record against: 1-2
Remaining games: vs. OKC, @ SAC, @ POR
Clippers (22.1%)
Record against: 3-1
Remaining games: vs. LAL, vs. POR, @ PHO
Lakers (21.8%)
Record against: 3-1
Remaining games: @ Utah, @ LAC, vs. PHO, vs. Utah
Pelicans (21.8%)
Record against: 1-1
Remaining games: vs. SAC, vs. MEM, vs. NYK, @ MIN
