The Pelicans do all they can to maintain their position in the play-in round. They have dropped to a worse position in the rankings due to losing six of their most recent eight games. They have a record of 31-33, which places them in 10th place in the Western Conference. They are just a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers, who are vying for their position.
Remember how they were winless for ten straight games in January and February? The challenges that they were having throughout that run are still the same ones that the team is having during this current slump that they are having. The Pelicans need help to produce enough offense to stay up with the pace of their competitors. They have lost their previous six games by an average combined score of fewer than 103 points. It is a difference of almost 11 points compared to the league’s average of 114.3 points scored per game. On the other hand, during their two victories over the last eight games, they have scored an average of 112 points per contest.
The Pelicans’ victories resulted from Brandon Ingram’s extraordinary performance in each of those games. After scoring 34 points in the win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he exceeded that performance with 40 points in the victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Ingram scored less than 25 points in each of its six defeats this season.
The pelicans will go in the same direction as Ingram. This presents a significant challenge for a club vying for a position in the playoffs since it makes them predictable. If the Sacramento Kings decided to concentrate their defensive efforts on Ingram and successfully stifle him, the Pelicans would be forced to find another source for their points.
What exactly is going on with the Sacramento Kings?
As the Pelicans steadily lose ground, the Kings climb to new heights. The Sacramento team has scored seven times in the previous ten games after firing off their beam. They not only have a tight handle on the third seed but are also making a serious challenge to the Memphis Grizzlies for the second spot in the Western Conference. The Kings are currently in second place in the Western Conference with a record of 37-26, just 1.5 games behind the Grizzlies.
The strategy that Sacramento intends to use is obvious. They go into games believing they will score more points than their opponents. The Kings’ offense is rated 119.3 out of 120 possible points. It will be the most impressive in NBA annals if that score is maintained. It reflects the fact that this is a historic squad that everyone is keeping an eye on.
One of the most impressive things about Sacramento is that each player has the opportunity to score. There is no doubt that Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox are the most important weapons on the squad. Yet scoring is one of many things these two can do. They can generate opportunities for the rest of the team with the passes that they make. If the guys around Sabonis and Fox weren’t hitting their shots, the Kings wouldn’t be nearly as successful as they are now.
The Kings are getting double-digit scoring from four different players on their team. During their most recent victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, starting guards Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, and Keegam Murray combined for 52 of their team’s 128 points in scoring. Malik Monk led the club in scoring with 45 points despite coming off the bench for the Warriors in their record 176-point victory against the Clippers a few games ago.
This is one of the reasons why the Kings are such a scary squad. Even though the opposition’s defense limits Fox and Sabonis’s offensive potential, they have enough firepower to make up for the points they surrender.
