Why winning on the home floor will be crucial to the Kings’ postseason hopes

The Kings’ longest break between home games this season is over.

When they take the Golden 1 Center floor Wednesday night, it will be the team’s first home game in 17 days, one day longer than the January span that included the Kings’ season-long, six-game trip.

It won’t be an easy return. Coming to Sacramento are the Milwaukee Bucks, who at 46-14 hold the NBA’s best record. The teams met in early November, with the Kings suffering a 35-point loss, their largest of the season.

Wednesday’s contest, which will tip off hours after the teams co-host the “Team Up for Change” social injustice summit, will be the first of four consecutive home games for the Kings.

“It’s always good to be in front of your home crowd,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said after the team completed its last home stand, in which Sacramento went 5-1.

The Kings are 19-11 at Golden 1 Center. They haven’t won 20 games on their floor since the 2012-13 season. Sacramento hasn’t had a winning record at home since 2006-07, the first year of their playoff drought, currently the longest in the NBA.

There are three postseason contenders on this home stand, including the Bucks, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.

“We are going to have to knock off some of these teams if we want to get to where we want to go, and that’s the playoffs,” Joerger said after the Kings lost to the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 13. “The schedule’s not easy ... but we are excited for it.”

One of the newest Kings is no stranger to postseason competition. If Sacramento is going to get there, it needs to take care of business at home and on the road.

“If you want to make the playoffs, this is the type of atmosphere it’s going to be,” said forward Harrison Barnes, who has the most postseason experience on the team: 64 games and a championship ring with the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings entered Tuesday ninth in a tight Western Conference race. They were one game behind the San Antonio Spurs for the last playoff spot; two games behind the Clippers, who they host Friday; and 2 1/2 behind the Utah Jazz for sixth. They lead the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers by two games.

“The schedule we have ... it’s great team after great team, so we’re going to be in a lot of these situations,” Barnes said.

Willie Cauley-Stein says winning at home shouldn’t surprise anyone.

“That’s what we’re supposed to do. We expect to do that,” the fourth-year center said. “That’s what we’re here to do is try to get wins. That’s what we’re doing, taking care of it.”

The Kings have 11 more chances to win in their arena. They have another four-game home stand March 17-23 and three more games in April as the regular season winds down.

This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 5:03 PM.