March 25 should have been the day the Sacramento Kings were liberated. In front of their home crowd against Minnesota. The loss to the Wolves and the results in the evening's other games robbed Sacramento's spectators of an unforgettable moment.
The scenario seemed almost too good for the Kings: home game, opponent reduced in "back-to-back," and beautiful people in the stands. Still, even if everything seemed to come together for us to witness a moment of history, there was a meeting to win on the floor.
But the Wolves didn't want the celebrations to fall on their corpses. They beat the Kings and find themselves in the top 6 simultaneously.
It was not until two days later that Hector, Fox, and Barnes breathed a sigh of relief. That's it. March 30, 2023, Portland, OR...
THE KINGS ARE OFFICIALLY IN THE PLAYOFFS.
17 years old. After 17 years of waiting, the Kings are in the playoffs !!
Not content to be deprived of festivity in front of their audience and the "beam," a sacrificial lamb was necessary. And unfortunately, Portland was on the calendar. Hector, not satisfied with the defeat of the previous game, went wild the little time he played.
After the regular five-by-five, he invented the five-by-five express. 15 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 8 steals, and 5 blocks. All in 21 minutes.
How to perform a five-by-five while preparing a pizza? You have the answer.
The Kings crushed poor Blazers without Lillard, Shaedon Sharpe led them. He behaves like a leader at only 19 years old. For the 4th time in eight days, it exceeds the 20-point mark and even reaches 30 points for the first time.
"I feel liberated. It's my fourth season, but it's also been 17 years since I made the playoffs. We were unfairly criticized at the beginning of the season, but that's the goal that has been achieved. These are Hector's words at the end of the match.
"I guess it's like a relief. People can't talk about it anymore: it's over," says and announces De'Aaron Fox for ESPN. "Seventeen years is a very long time. It's nice to be done with that. »
"Nobody plays in the playoffs just to be there. We are capable of beating anyone and losing by making our opponents bleed. It doesn't matter who shows up," confirms Patrick Ewing.
He was the most questioned by the public and the one who had the most to prove. He was put aside too long before he found a job in the NBA. The Knicks didn't want him, and the weak Hornets snubbed him. He landed through the back door in Sacramento.
But the players are not stupid. With two wins behind the Grizzlies (48-28) but five ahead of the Suns (41-35), the Kings (46-30) have a very good chance of finishing in 3rd place in the Western Conference.
Home-field advantage, an inexperienced team, and defensive limitations. Is there a better target to start the playoffs? Without looking at the Kings' strengths, the weaknesses are examined, but depending on the team that faces them, it is a gift or a poison,
When we think of Sacramento, we think directly of Fox and Hector... Imagine if we limit them, then the match will be folded.
Only the Kings are not that. This is before a team that circulates the ball and all the players can score. A player like Huerter can plant 30... then the next day, it's Monk... and for the third game, it's Lyles and Barnes who have the hot hand... not to mention Murray.
If Hector didn't do the work of two people, painting the Kings would have been a wall with Hector having to focus on a single task.
And then Fox still takes those responsibilities in the fourth quarter. Who tells you that he will not decide to do it on an entire game and plant 50 points in one game?
We always talk about the Kings' defensive problems. But no one would like to defend this team's offense.
And then, frankly, in the NBA season, there is practically only the 4th quarter where he plays. And Sacramento had a lot of close games early in the 4th quarter to win finally.
Davion Michel knows how to do the job. Kessler Edwards is a pot of glue. Fox has hyperactive hands. And Hector is a mismatch for every team in the NBA. Even Adebayo or Embiid, the top two defenders among the best centers in the league, would have a headache potentially facing him seven times.
Among the top 3, Denver looks more likely than Sacramento despite their first place, but they are unattainable. That was what everyone thought at first.