Kings’ rankings roundup: Keeping up a downbeat

Two games last week was a small sample size for the news outlets that sport NBA power rankings, but the Kings, with a loss in Washington and a harrowing road win against hapless Philadelphia – and a coaching controversy – managed to leave an impression.

The general direction of that impression was downward, as the Kings dropped in three of the four polls (Perhaps in observance of the All-Star Game break, NBC Sports and Yahoo did not publish rankings this week).

The highest ranking this week is 22nd by NBA.com. Remember? Just a handful of weeks ago, the Kings rose as high as No. 14? Right, seems a pretty dim memory, doesn’t it?

The Bee’s Jason Jones ranked the Kings 23rd, down from 21st.

The polls:

NBA.com: 22nd, down from 21st. From the site: “Apparently, George Karl is still the coach of the Kings, who pulled out a real gutty win in Philadelphia on Wednesday after allowing the league’s worst offense to put up two 30-point quarters in the first half.”

ESPN: 24th, down from 19th. From the site: “Instinct tells me that the Kings’ much-needed win (escape?) in their final game before the break at Philly is unlikely to bring the roller coaster that isGeorge Karl’s job security to a halt.”

CBS Sports: 28th, up from 29th. From the site: “Boy, it's a good thing they beat the Sixers by four points to go into the All-Star Break. Otherwise I'd really be worried about them. (Take a second to wipe that sarcasm dripping down your screen right now.)”

SI.com: 26th, down from 23rd. From the site: “Uh, what now? The Kings are locked in a vicious cycle of leaked coach firings, non-coach firings, actual coach firings and games in which they allow 120 points.”

Compiled by Jeff Caraska

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Kings’ rankings roundup: Keeping up a downbeat."