How the Kings can clinch homecourt in the Play-In

The Sacramento Kings are heading to the postseason for the third consecutive year, but they will have to advance in the Play In Tournament to make an appearance in the NBA Playoffs.

Thanks to the Golden State Warriors’ blowout win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, Sacramento (39-40) has punched its ticket to the ninth vs. tenth-seed single-elimination Play-In Game that will occur next Wednesday, April 16th.

The Kings currently hold a one-game lead over the tenth-seed Dallas Mavericks (38-41) with just three games remaining, meaning the possibility of hosting the single-elimination postseason game remains.

How can Sacramento emerge from Sunday’s regular season finale in line to host next week’s Play In game? Let’s lay it all out.

 

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Can the Sacramento Kings host the Play-In Game?

Entering play on Wednesday, Sacramento’s magic number to clinch the ninth seed is two, meaning one win paired with a Mavericks loss clinches home court in the single-elimination Play In game.

If the Kings want to host the Play In game, it’s quite simple what needs to happen: Win at least one game.

With three games remaining, Sacramento holds a one-game lead over Dallas–which is essentially a two-game lead, considering that the Kings have the tie-breaker after sweeping the season series against the Mavericks (3-0).

If both teams finish with the same regular season record, the Kings will get the ninth seed.

Does hosting the Play In game matter? If you look at the home-away splits for each team, in certainly could. Dallas is 21-17 (.522) at home this season, while they have struggled on the road (17-24).

The Kings are 19-19 at home entering play on Wednesday, but won both regular season matchups in Dallas this season.

Here are the remaining matchups for each team with five days to go in the regular season:

Remaining regular season matchups

Sacramento: DEN, LAC, PHX

Dallas: LAL, TOR, @ MEM

Seeing that the third-through-eighth seeds are separated by one game or less in the Western Conference standings, Sacramento and Dallas will likely face teams like the Lakers, Nuggets, Clippers, and Grizzlies at full force.

As long as the Kings don’t lose the next two games, paired with two Mavericks wins, they will be in a strong spot to clinch the ninth seed and host the Play In.

Time to watch the chaos unfold over the coming days as we wait to see if Golden 1 Center will host postseason action for the third straight year.

Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings

• Wednesday, April 9th vs. Denver Nuggets – 7:00 PM PT
• Friday, April 11th vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7:00 PM PT
• Sunday, April 13th vs. Phoenix Suns – 12:30 PM PT (Final game of regular season)
• Wednesday, April 16th – TBD (Western Conference Play-In Tournament – 9th vs. 10th seed game)

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