Kings gameday live: Does Sacramento still have path to play-in? Can Heat hold on in East?
The Kings posted back-to-back victories over the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic last week to keep their faint playoff hopes alive going into Monday’s game against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena.
The Kings (27-48) trail the Los Angeles Lakers by 4 ½ games for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference with seven games remaining. The Heat (47-28) are now tied with the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after losing four in a row and six of nine.
Sacramento has ruled out Terence Davis (wrist), De’Aaron Fox (hand), Richaun Holmes (personal) and Domantas Sabonis (knee). Miami is listing Tyler Herro (knee), Caleb Martin (calf), P.J. Tucker (knee) and Gabe Vincent (toe) as questionable.
The race in the East is tight at the top with Miami, Boston, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers all within a half-game of each other. In the West, there are five teams vying for the last two spots in the play-in tournament.
The Lakers dropped to 10th in the West with a 116-108 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. They are one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs and four games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers with the Kings sitting another half-game back.
The Lakers (31-43) are reeling after losing three in a row and 15 of 20. They have eight games remaining. They will play the Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Pelicans, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder before facing the Nuggets again in the final game of the regular season. According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Lakers are only favored to win the game against Oklahoma City.
The Spurs (30-44) are in the best position to catch the Lakers after winning three in a row. They could overtake the Lakers in the days ahead with three of their next four games coming against the Houston Rockets and Blazers (2).
The Blazers (27-47) have gone into a freefall. They have lost three in a row and 13 of 15.
The Kings are the biggest longshot of the bunch, but they have not been mathematically eliminated. Sacramento has seven games remaining against the Heat, Rockets (2), Warriors, Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers and Suns.
Miami and Golden State have struggled recently. The Rockets are tied for the worst record in the league. The Clippers and Suns — Sacramento’s last two opponents — might be inclined to help the Kings’ cause if it means keeping the Lakers out of the playoffs.
If the Kings somehow find a way to go 6-1 to get to 33 wins, they could potentially find themselves tied with the Lakers and/or Spurs with tiebreaker advantages over both teams. That seems unlikely, but it’s still possible.
Martin ruled out
Miami has ruled Martin out due to a right calf contusion. The 26-year-old forward from Nevada is averaging career highs of 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Out sick
The Kings announced before the game that guard Josh Jackson and center Alex Len will be out due to non-COVID illnesses. Len has appeared in 37 games this season, averaging 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds. Jackson has appeared in just six games since being acquired at the February trade deadline.
Note: Check back throughout the day for updates on tonight’s game between the Kings and Heat.
Sacramento Kings at Miami Heat
When: 4:30 p.m.
Where: FTX Arena
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sports 1140 KHTK
Odds: Heat -13.0
Over/under: 219.5
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Terence Davis (wrist); De’Aaron Fox (hand); Richaun Holmes (personal); Domantas Sabonis (knee).
Heat: QUESTIONABLE — Tyler Herro (knee); Caleb Martin (calf); P.J. Tucker (knee); Gabe Vincent (toe).
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
