After handling the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, along with the added help of the Houston Rockets taking down the Memphis Grizzlies yesterday, the Sacramento Kings have moved within 3.5 games of the eighth seed.

Hopes for the playoffs are on the rise in Sacramento as the Kings are 3-0 since returning from the All Star break, have won 9 of their last 13, and end the season with an easy schedule.

But that doesn’t mean the Kings are by any means a lock to leap-frog the Grizzlies as the eighth seed. In fact, there are five other teams vying to do the same thing.

It is a six-team hunt for that last playoff spot with three of those teams currently having a better record than Sacramento and another owning the same amount of wins and losses. The next few games will be an indicator of which of the six teams are truly in the fight.

The six teams include, in no particular order, the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, and the New Orleans Pelicans.

Current Standings

Team Seed Win/Loss Games Back Last 10 Memphis Grizzlies 8th 28-30 0 4-6 Portland Trailblazers 9th 26-33 2.5 4-6 New Orleans Pelicans 10th 25-33 3 6-4 Sacramento Kings 11th 24-33 3.5 7-3 San Antonio Spurs 12th 24-33 3.5 3-7 Phoenix Suns 13th 24-35 4.5 4-6

Upcoming Games

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Sacramento Kings vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Prediction: The Kings are hot right now, but so are the Thunder and they may just be the better overall team.

Result: Kings lose

Portland Traiblazers vs Indiana Pacers

Prediction: With Damian Lillard projected to miss a handful more games, the Trailblazers will have a tough time winning against the current sixth seed of the East.

Result: Trailblazers lose

Friday, February 28, 2020

Sacramento Kings vs Memphis Grizzlies

Prediction: With the Kings leading the season series against Memphis 2-1 and the fact that they just beat the Grizzlies last week, I think the Kings will bounce back off their loss to the Thunder and take care of the Jaren Jackson-less Grizzlies.

Result: Kings win

Cleveland Cavaliers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Prediction: The Pelicans have looked strong since Zion made his debut. Therefore, they shouldn’t have any problem beating one of the worst teams in the league.

Result: Pelicans win

Detroit Pistons vs Phoenix Suns

Prediction: The Pistons’ season is over and they know it. The Suns, looking to stay alive in the playoff race, will play hard against a team they lost to earlier this month.

Result: Suns win

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Portland Trailblazers vs Atlanta Hawks

Prediction: Still without Lillard, the Trailblazers struggle to find their rhythm. Trae Young drops 40 and propels the Hawks to a rare win.

Result: Trailblazers lose

Los Angeles Lakers vs Memphis Grizzlies

Prediction: The Grizzlies can’t contain the LeBron-AD duo, and get routed by the best team in the West.

Result: Grizzlies lose

Orlando Magic vs San Antonio Spurs

Prediction: With a solid lead as the eighth seed in the East, the Magic don’t play with the same urgency as the Popovich-led Spurs.

Result: Spurs win

Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns

Prediction: Every team gets their opportunity for an easy win.

Result: Suns win

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Detroit Pistons vs Sacramento Kings

Prediction: The Kings stay hot against a bad Detroit team.

Result: Kings win

Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Prediction: After losing on Tuesday to the Lakers, the Pelicans still can’t overcome the number one seed in the West and face the same fate.

Result: Pelicans lose

Standings If My Predictions Come True

Team Seed Win/Loss Games Back Memphis Grizzlies 8th 28-32 0 New Orleans Pelicans 9th 26-34 2 Sacramento Kings 10th 26-34 2 Portland Trailblazers 11th 26-35 2.5 Phoenix Suns 12th 26-35 2.5 San Antonio Spurs 13th 25-33 3.5

If my predictions, which aren’t too hard to believe, become realities, then the Kings will sit just two games out of the eighth seed after the weekend.

The Kings are still very much in the playoff race and the results from the next four days will have a big impact on how realistic a playoff berth truly is.

It looks to be a wild finish, but hope is still alive in Sacramento.