Home improvement: With a long stretch at Golden 1 Center, will the Kings make a run?
They say there’s no place like home. Home is where the heart is. A man’s home is his castle.
The Kings would like to believe these things are true, but they are in need of some serious home improvement as they return from a tough three-game road trip to play nine of their next 10 games and 15 of their next 19 at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings are 5-8 at home this season, one of only nine teams in the NBA with a losing home record. Home court advantage used to be something special in Sacramento with a 497-game sellout streak and rabid fans clanging cowbells, but the Kings have posted a winning record at home only twice in the 15 years since their last playoff appearance in 2005-06.
“It’s really important in the NBA, especially — more so than any other sport, I think — that you take care of business at home, because it’s just so difficult to win on the road in this league,” interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry said. “We’ve had a pretty tough schedule from the very outset of the season. We’ve got some home games coming up, and it doesn’t matter who it’s against. You’ve got to feel like you can beat anyone on your home court.”
The Kings (11-17) will open a three-game homestand against the Washington Wizards (15-13) on Wednesday. They will entertain the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday before making a short trip to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
The Kings will return to open a six-game homestand against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 22. They will make another quick trip to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 4 before coming home to face the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 5. The Kings will then visit the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers before coming back to Sacramento to start a five-game homestand against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 10.
California dreaming
The Kings will play 12 in a row and 17 of their next 19 games in California. They won’t go east of the Rocky Mountains until they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 22.
“We’re trying to string together some home wins and get to that confident level where you come in here and it’s a really tough place to play,” Gentry said. “I think it’s really important to have home court advantage, if that’s what you want to call it, to think that anytime you line up at home, you know you’re able to beat teams.”
That was not the case as the Kings went 3-8 at home to start the season, but they won their last two games at Golden 1 Center, beating the Clippers 104-99 on Dec. 4 and the Orlando Magic 142-130 on Dec. 8. Gentry hopes that is a sign of things to come. Sacramento’s playoff hopes might depend on it.
The Kings are currently battling the likes of the Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs for the last two play-in spots in the Western Conference. If they don’t fare better during this lengthy stretch at home, they could find themselves 10 games under .500 by the time Luka Doncic leaves town following a game against the Dallas Mavericks on New Year’s Eve.
The Kings already share the record for the longest playoff drought in NBA history. They are in danger of breaking that record this season, but they have a chance to set themselves up for a second-half playoff push if they find some success at home over the next five weeks.
History at home
The Kings have an all-time home record of 1,608-1,128 (.588) dating back to their inaugural season as the Rochester Royals in 1948-49.
There was a time when the Kings were virtually unbeatable at home. They went 36-5 at home in 2001-02, the year they reached the Western Conference finals. They went 35-6 at home in 2002-03, 34-7 in 2003-04, 30-11 in 2004-05 and 27-14 in 2005-06, but they are 267-342 (.438) on their home floor over the past 16 seasons.
Some of the Kings’ lowest moments have come at home this season. They suffered a 102-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Gentry’s interim coaching debut on Nov. 22 — the day after former coach Luke Walton was fired — despite the absences of Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Danny Green. Gentry said the shorthanded 76ers “kicked our ass.”
“The thing that’s really disturbing right now is we’re having trouble winning games at home,” Gentry said following the game. “When you play a team that’s really depleted right now, and you’re playing them at home, you can’t expect to win. You have to win, and we didn’t do that.”
‘Do something better’
Sacramento sank even lower in a 117-92 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 30. LeBron James was out due to NBA health and safety protocols. The Kings led by 14 early in the third quarter, but they were outscored by 39 over the final 22 minutes.
“Let’s go, Lakers” chants filled the empty void inside Golden 1 Center as Kings fans headed for the exits late in the fourth quarter, allowing Lakers fans to take over the building.
That moment didn’t sit well with center Richaun Holmes, who said the Kings have to do a better job of protecting their home court.
“You don’t never want to hear nobody getting chants on your home floor, so for me personally, I don’t take that lightly as a competitor,” Holmes said. “We’re at home and the other team is being cheered like we’re away, so I didn’t like that. That sticks with me personally, for sure. Makes me want to do something better, makes me want to get better, go back to the drawing board and see how we can get better for these fans, because they deserve more.”
