Western Conference Standings update: Kings inch closer to top-5

Mar 15, 2024, 8:25 AM | Updated: 8:27 am

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 12: Domantas Sabonis #10 high-fives Harrison Barnes #40 of the Sacra...

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

One year ago, the Sacramento Kings used a successful March to earn a top-three seed in the Western Conference standings.

For this season’s Kings team, a solid start to March has put them in a position to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament if they can continue their recent winning ways.

Sacramento (38-27) is fresh off of what many believe to be the team’s best two-game showing of the season, as the Kings secured back-to-back wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers on consecutive days at Golden 1 Center earlier this week.

After winning four of their past five games, Sacramento has reclaimed the sixth and final playoff spot in the West while pulling themselves within one game of the fifth-seed New Orleans Pelicans.

If the Kings can pick up a win over the New York Knicks on Saturday and the Pelicans fail to pick up wins against the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento could find itself tied or in the fifth spot come Sunday night.

With 17 games remaining in the 2023-24 regular season, here’s how things are shaping up in the Western Conference standings as we head into an action-packed weekend around the league:

Western Conference Standings

The Kings’ schedule will soften for a few games following Saturday’s matchup against the Knicks, as Sacramento will face Memphis (23-44), Toronto (23-43), and Washington (11-55) before jumping back into a rougher stretch of games.

Following their first of two remaining East-coast road trips, Sacramento will return home for another homestand that will include two huge meetings with the Dallas Mavericks, the eighth seed in the West, although they only trail the Kings by one game.

Sacramento holds the fifth-hardest remaining strength of schedule in the Western Conference, but the seventh-seed Phoenix Suns–owner of the third-most challenging remaining schedule in the NBA–will have a buzzsaw of a final stretch to work through over the coming weeks.

Phoenix will face Denver, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Clippers (twice), and Cleveland Cavaliers during the final stretch, along with what could be a pivotal matchup against the Kings at Golden 1 Center on April 12th.

(Tankathon)

Head-to-Head Matchups

Sacramento will face several teams around them in the coming weeks. The state of the Western Conference standings could look a lot different following these upcoming matchups:

Kings vs. Mavericks – Tuesday, March 26th (Kings currently own tie-breaker vs. DAL, 2-0)
Kings vs. Mavericks – Friday, March 29th
Kings vs. Pelicans – Thursday, April 11th (Pelicans own tie-breaker vs. SAC, 4-0)
Kings vs. Suns – Friday, April 12th (Winner secures tie-breaker, 2-2)

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will continue its six-game homestand on Saturday night when they face All-Star guard Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks at Golden 1 Center.

Last season, the Kings secured a 122-117 win over the Knicks at home in front of a national audience on TNT. Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double (24 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists), while De’Aaron Fox’s 24 points helped Sacramento close things out in crunch time.

Be sure to tune in right here on Sactown Sports 1140 for all of your Kings vs. Knicks coverage, beginning at 5:30 PM PST on Game Night before a 7:00 PM PST tip-off from downtown Sacramento.