Kings’ Playoff Outlook Following Home Loss to Rockets

Sacramento will have to outperform five other teams in crunch time as they fight for their NBA playoff spot.

The Sacramento Kings have under 20 games remaining in their season after Sunday's loss to the Houston Rockets - and their playoff picture is still shaky. A win against the Rockets would have put the Kings at 37-26, right in the 6 seed in the West - 1 game ahead of the Phoenix Suns and clawing right behind the New Orleans Pelicans for 5. 

However, the loss kept the Kings right outside safety, placing them at 7 in the rankings and with the Play-In group - who are all within 3 games of each other.

The Kings held an early lead against the Rockets and looked safe at half-time, but as it has been all season - inconsistency struck. The Kings managed only 14 points in the third quarter and were not able to make up the 13-point gap entering the fourth, ultimately losing 112-104.

The Kings looked good after going on a small but important win streak with wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, but it will be back to the drawing board for Mike Brown as the team holds back-to-back games on March 12 and 13 against the Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers once again.

As frustrating as these losses may be for the Kings fans, every team around them is slipping up as well - and with less than 20 games left, every game will matter. Of Sacramento's remaining games, 3 of 19 are against teams currently in the play-in battle. While this means there will be a lot left up to chance, winning those 3 games on top of as many as possible will give Sacramento a chance at safety. If not, Golden 1 Center may see single-elimination basketball for the Kings to return to their second playoff series in 17 years.

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