Lost in LA wrote:Phoenix lost at home to the Rockets, which brings the sixth seed very close. Denver toyed with the Lakers and then pulled away.
It's going to be extremely close.
From here on in only Denver, Memphis, Dallas, Golden State, Houston has "easier" schedules than the Kings.
Season H2H is definitely going to come into play so the Kings need to currently get clear of NOP for a 5-6 spot and it will come down to the 5th game against Suns in that match up. Kings needs to win 1/2 in the double header late in March with Dallas to win the season series. The Kings should keep the tie breaker with the Warriors (better division record) and the Lakers series is at 2-0 Kings' favor and that will be decided in the coming weeks (both teams are 7-6 in the division).
12/22 games left for the Suns are against Bos/OKC/Den/Minn/Cle/LAC. It's going to be extremely tough for them if Booker misses time. With that said, it will be interesting to see who plays the seeding game later in the season with the Suns because they could be a touch match up in the first round. Like Den/LAC/OKC/Minn could all be playing for a spot to face the Suns in the opening round.
I mentioned it at the time regarding the IST. The Kings were penalised for winning in the IST by playing the Suns & NOP 5 times and the Spurs & Jazz 3 times. This is going to be a talking point at the end of the season in house for NBA teams and how best to approach it. It could be a HUGE difference at the end of the season.