The Sacramento Kings are in a bit of a rut right now. After briefly showing signs of life with back-to-back wins over the Nuggets and Timberwolves-two teams sitting near the top of the Western Conference-the Kings have slipped again, dropping three straight to the Suns, Jazz, and Grizzlies.
And while each loss has had its own set of problems, the common thread is inconsistency. One night it’s the bench, the next it’s the starters.
Either way, the rhythm is off, and the Kings are paying for it.
Let’s rewind for a second. After an eight-game losing streak that nearly buried them in the standings, Sacramento managed to claw out two gutsy wins.
Beating Denver and Minnesota was no small feat, especially considering how deep both teams are and how well they’ve been playing. Those wins felt like a potential turning point-something to build on.
But instead of riding that wave, the Kings stumbled right back into trouble.
The first of those three losses came against the Suns-a team that’s been red-hot this season. That one, you could almost chalk up to the opponent simply being better on the night.
But the next two-against the Jazz and Grizzlies-are tougher pills to swallow. These were winnable games, especially if Sacramento had gotten anything close to a complete performance.
Against Utah, the bench struggled mightily. Outside of Maxime Raynaud, who gave the Kings some solid minutes, there wasn’t much production.
The starters held their own, but they couldn’t carry the entire load. Fast forward to the Grizzlies game, and the script flipped.
The bench actually showed up-Malik Monk and Precious Achiuwa both hit double figures, and Raynaud added nine points, six boards, three assists, and a block before fouling out-but this time, it was the starters who came up short.
And that’s where things get concerning.
Zach LaVine, who had been a bright spot with 34 points against the Jazz, cooled off significantly against Memphis, finishing with just 19. That drop-off matters, especially when you're relying on him to be your go-to scorer.
But it wasn’t just the scoring dip. LaVine also saw his rebounding numbers fall off a cliff-10 boards against the Jazz, just two against the Grizzlies.
When your star isn’t producing at both ends, it puts pressure on everyone else to pick up the slack.
The rest of the starting unit didn’t exactly light it up either. It wasn’t a total collapse, but it lacked the kind of urgency and execution you need to win tight games-especially on the road or against scrappy teams like Memphis. The energy wasn’t there early, and the Kings never really recovered.
This is where the leadership of the starting five has to come into play. In the NBA, your starters don’t just set the tone-they are the tone.
They dictate the pace, the physicality, the focus. And when that group comes out flat or inconsistent, it trickles down to the rest of the roster.
That’s exactly what we saw in this three-game skid.
Defensively, Sacramento needs to tighten up. That’s been a theme all season, and it reared its head again in these losses.
Whether it’s missed rotations, slow closeouts, or just a lack of communication, the Kings aren’t making enough stops when it matters most. And when you’re not getting stops, your offense has to be nearly perfect.
Right now, it’s not.
The good news? The pieces are there.
We've seen what this team can do when things click-those wins over Denver and Minnesota weren’t flukes. But the margin for error in the West is razor-thin, and the Kings can’t afford to keep giving games away.
If Sacramento wants to get back on track, it starts with the starters. They need to bring the energy, the consistency, and the leadership to stabilize this team. Because right now, the Kings are stuck in a cycle of one step forward, two steps back-and time is running out to flip the script.