With playoff hopes dashed, the Kings can still finish the season on a positive note

The All-Star break is a chance for teams to regroup, get some rest and get ready for the stretch run of the season. The Kings hoped to come into the break staring at a potential playoff run like they did last year, but with just 28 games left and the team well behind the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, it would take a minor miracle for the Kings to pull that off.

So what should the Kings be focusing on for these final 28 games? Health has to be the top concern.

The Kings have been missing key players for large chunks of the season and haven’t had a healthy team since the first game of the season. Starting center Richaun Holmes, who has been the unofficial team MVP for the season, has missed the last 17 games with a shoulder tear and will be out for a least a couple of more weeks, if not longer. Marvin Bagley III has indicated he would like to play but needs to get healthy first. If Bagley is still dealing with soreness and pain after the break, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Kings shut down the second-year player for the season so that he can fully focus on getting healthy.

That would be a disappointing turn of events and a lot of on-court development time lost. But with the playoffs out of sight, it’s more important to be cautious than to rush anybody back.

Playoffs or not, it would be nice to see the Kings end the year on a high note.

Since the Kings have moved Buddy Hield to the bench in favor of Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings have gone 6-4, with the team playing some of its best basketball of the season. Despite playing fewer minutes as a reserve, Hield is scoring more and shooting far more efficiently. He has made 49 percent of his 3-point attempts in the last 10 games on more than 10 attempts a game. That change has seemingly been for the better of the team and for Hield, even if Hield would prefer to be a starter.

The schedule softens up a bit for the Kings after the break as well, with Sacramento playing about half its games against teams that are playoff-bound. A .500 or above finish over the last 28 games would alleviate some worries that the team isn’t built to compete at a high level.

Development of current players should also continue to be a priority. De’Aaron Fox has already proven himself, but we should hopefully see more of players like Harry Giles and Justin James down the stretch. The Kings also can see what they have in new acquisitions Jabari Parker and Alex Len.

While Len is a free agent this summer, he should see some time while the Kings work on getting Holmes and Bagley back from injury. Parker could provide a burst of bench scoring and might end up returning to the team next season if he opts in to his $6.5 million player option.

For many Kings fans, this has been one of the most disappointing seasons in a decade full of them, especially after the expectations levied on them after last year. The best thing the Kings can do is give those same fans some hope by playing hard and finishing strong.

Akis Yerocostas has been covering the Kings for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter @Aykis16.

This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 8:36 AM.