The Western Conference Standings are pretty neatly sorted into three tiers. There’s a clear top four, a clear 5-10, and a clear bottom five. Barring some truly wacky late-season shenanigans, the tiers themselves are unlikely the change much, just the order within those tiers. The Kings are firmly in that 5-10 group, and the order of that group changes daily. After some key losses by other teams over the weekend, the Kings currently sit 6th in the West. Every win and every loss, by every team in that tier, they all matter down the stretch. If the Kings want to avoid the play-in, they need to take advantage of every opportunity the rest of the way.
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Monday, March 4th, 7:00 PM PT
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
Last Time
The Kings beat the Bulls 123-115 on February 3rd. The Kings jumped up to an early lead, up by as many as 30, but collapsed in the third quarter and allowed Chicago back into the game. Some late game heroics from De’Aaron Fox secured the victory.
Three in the Key
Effort and Execution
In Friday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, we saw the Kings execute at a high level for a full game plus overtime. The result was a big road win against one of the best teams in the West, even without De’Aaron Fox, who sat with a knee injury. Fox is questionable leading into today’s game, so the Kings could once again be without their star point guard. The Bulls have already shown the Kings what will happen if Sacramento takes their foot off the gas. Following a players-only meeting after the Denver loss, can the Kings maintain their focus against a weaker opponent?
Protect the Ball
The Chicago Bulls are a pesky team. The rank 10th in league in steals per game, and are 2nd best in the NBA for turnovers committed per game. Alex Caruso is questionable for this game, which would be a big blow to Chicago’s defense, but the Bulls still have length and the ability to disrupt passing lanes, which is generally a good way to give the Kings fits. In their previous matchup the Kings committed 16 turnovers, but also forced 16 turnovers from the Bulls.
Make your free throws
This key to the game is making its triumphant return following the return of the Kings late-game free throw yips. Malik Monk missed two key free throws towards the end of overtime. Malik hilariously addressed the issue on the post game show with Deuce and Mo:
Asking Malik Monk for more more made free throws at the end of the conversation led to this very genuine response😂https://t.co/jIMeZQEsWQ pic.twitter.com/NodinNSWJC
— Morgan Ragan (@momoragan) March 2, 2024
Prediction
Sabonis continues his domination, taking the ball straight at Nikola Vucevic early and often. Sabonis has another triple double, Monk is perfect from the line, and the Kings cruise to victory.
Kings 125, Bulls 103
Fan Predictions
Link to Leaderboard (Updated 2/21/24)
