Kings Fall to Wizards, Show a Season on the Brink of Collapse

The Kings are rapidly going nowhere. While Sacramento had some hope early in the season, and while they are still technically in the playoff picture, there is clearly something wrong both with the team’s core and future direction.

The franchise floundered early on in the year, which caused them to fire coach Mike Brown and eventually trade away starting point guard De’Aaron Fox.

Though they won some games after that, they have now officially crash landed back to Earth.

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The team has undergone many struggles this year. They’ve had tough losses, brutal blowouts, missed opportunities, and recent reports state interim head coach Doug Christie is losing the locker room.

Despite all of that, nothing seems as bad as their recent defeat in Washington.

Dropping an Easy One

Sacramento went into their Wednesday night game against the Wizards expecting an easy victory amid a tight playoff race. One more win with so few games left would have put them in a good position to lock up a spot in the play-in game.

What they got instead was their toughest defeat of the season. The game didn’t feel like just another loss, it felt like the end to a rather lukewarm year.

A death knell for a team who, despite their talent and roster, lacks a strong core identity

Sacramento and Washington started off neck-and-neck, ending the first quarter tied. However, the Wizards surprisingly gained the upper hand over the next two quarters.

They were up 14 by the end of the third and, after staving off a late failed comeback by Sacramento, managed to pull out a tight 116-111 victory.

Many of the Kings played well. Six ended up in double digits, while DeMar DeRozan scored 20 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter.

Center Domantas Sabonis also scored 18, but only nine of those came in the final three quarters.

Even so, all of their efforts fell short

The whole team lacked urgency and didn’t put up much of a fight.

Though it seemed they should have been battling to secure a playoff spot, they didn’t have a lot of hustle and let the Wizards get the better of them.

What the Future Holds

The Kings entered Wednesday’s game with a record of 36-39, while the Wizards came in with a record of 16-59. Even so, both teams had lost ten of their last thirteen contests and showed no signs of turning it around.

The Wizards had more incentive to lose than the Kings, but that didn’t seem to matter in the end

The loss is troubling for the purple and black because it shows a distinct lack of urgency. Even with everything that’s happened, the Kings are in the tenth seed and can make the playoffs with a strong push.

They just need to stay ahead of the Suns, who sit one game back.

They could very well make the playoffs, but with the way things are going it’s hard to see them doing anything with it.

Despite that, it would be hard to see making the play-in game as anything but a success

Their next game is against the Charlotte Hornets, another squad with an abysmal record (19-57). If they do manage to get that victory, they should be able to stay afloat. If they lose there, it might be the end of their season.

A Potential Change of Leadership

With the Kings on the brink, many are now turning their attention to the team’s sideline. More specifically, their potential next head coach.

It seemed interim coach Doug Christie would take over permanently when the team went on a winning streak following the trade for Zach LaVine, but the recent turn has undoubtedly shifted that narrative.

He’s a solid leader, but not one that’s winning games

That’s not good enough in the modern NBA. Especially because Sacramento has such a strong roster that includes Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Zach LaVine, and Malik Monk.

Mike Brown proved that core is capable of winning playoff games, even if this season didn’t go as planned.

That much talent will undoubtedly attract a coach, but no one knows which one

The franchise is known to go after high level talent, including the likes of George Karl and Luke Walton, and there’s no reason to think they won’t go after a big name yet again.

That being said, Christie has many ties to the organization

He’s beloved by many people on the team, and the front office seems to like him as well.

That, coupled with the fact that owner Vivek Ranadive wants to avoid paying into the luxury tax, could keep Christie around.

Whatever the Kings end up doing, that’s a question for the offseason. Right now, they’re still in the playoff hunt. They may not be playing like a true postseason team, but if they can sneak in, anything can happen.