Chapter 45: The Last Chance in the Playoffs

After the victory over the Orlando Magic, the Kings traveled from Sacramento to San Antonio the next day to prepare for the game against the Spurs.

This season, the San Antonio Spurs have been riding high, and now they have won 52 wins, beating last season's champion Los Angeles Lakers and firmly ranking first in the West. Although the Spurs' core roster is older, whenever people think that the Spurs are going downhill, Greg Murphy. Popovich will lead the old spurs and slap the underdog in the face.

Away from home against the San Antonio Spurs, Tyreek's fighting spirit is still high, and with the aftermath of his best performance of the season in the last game, Tyrek has caused the Spurs a lot of problems. Tony. Parker, Manu. Ginobili, George. Hill can't limit Tyrek entirely, but against a team like the Spurs, one person's play doesn't mean the outcome of a game.

At the same time, in the last game against the Orlando Magic, after a full game of high-intensity defense, the Kings players have not fully recovered physically, and this is another away game, the spirit of the Kings team is not good.

The Spurs' hard power is above the Kings, and the fatigue of the Kings players has affected the performance to a certain extent, although Tyreco's performance is still bright, but the Spurs have successfully defended their home court by relying on wonderful team cooperation, and finally the San Antonio Spurs won the Sacramento Kings 107-100. Tyrek scored 35 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the game, but it still didn't prevent the team's defeat.

There was no time left for frustration after the loss to the San Antonio Spurs, and the team traveled to New Orleans the next day to face the Hornets back-to-back.

The New Orleans Hornets are currently ranked 8th in the West, and the Memphis Grizzlies, currently ranked 7th in the West, are the main rivals for the Sacramento Kings to advance to the playoffs. After losing to the San Antonio Spurs, the Kings have a win margin of 2 games with the Hornets and a win margin of 3.5 games with the Grizzlies. But unfortunately, when playing against the Spurs, the team has already had a lack of physical strength, and it is not ugly to lose under Tyreck's excellent performance, and the super strength of the Spurs has once again weakened the physical state of the Kings.

Back-to-back games were already a great challenge, and even Tyrek couldn't continue to play strongly, and finally the Sacramento Kings swallowed two straight defeats in New Orleans, and Tyrek scored 18 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.

This two-game losing streak is not just a two-game losing streak, but the defeat to the biggest competitor for the playoffs has once again increased the difficulty of making it to the playoffs.

Fortunately, the Kings adjusted their form in time after returning to their home court, and the Kings easily won two consecutive games against the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, who are at the bottom of the league this season. Then in the final game of the three-game home court, after an overtime battle, they defeated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, and after two consecutive defeats, they enjoyed three consecutive wins. In all three games, Terek performed remarkably, averaging 26.3 points, 8 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game.

The Sacramento Kings have a tough schedule ahead, with 15 games left until the end of the regular season, including a five-game road streak and a four-game road streak, which is no small challenge for the Kings, who are still 2.5 wins behind the New Orleans Hornets in eighth place in the West.

However, a group of young people led by Terrick are indeed hardworking, and it is everyone's dream to make the playoffs this season, and now that they have the opportunity, they must do their best. In the 5 consecutive road trips, except for the Chicago Bulls, the opponents in the remaining 4 games are not strong, and the Kings have won all 4 games!

And against the Chicago Bulls, this team this season is led by Derrick. The super strong team led by Rose, the Kings are not opponents at all. Although he suffered a heavy defeat to the Chicago Bulls on the road, he was the most serious contender for this season's regular season MVP, Derrick. In Rose's battle, Terek also played his own style.

Windy City Roses and Tyrek are known for their breakthrough and weak projection ability, and the two can be said to explode each other in this game, you can't stop me, and I can't stop you. However, the overall strength of the Chicago Bulls is far superior to that of the Kings after all, and it is not difficult for the Bulls to win a big victory with eight players scoring in double figures.

The Kings then went 2-2 in the four games they had before the four-game streak and were 41-35 with six games left in the regular season. Although the Kings have an excellent record during this time, the New Orleans Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies have not fallen behind, and the Hornets have surpassed the Grizzlies. Although the Kings are still ranked 9th in the West, the difference between them and the Grizzlies in 8th place in the West has narrowed to just one game.

Facing the final four road games of the season, the Kings' opponents are the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, and Golden State Warriors.

In the first two games, the Kings won a solid victory over the Rockets, but in the face of the Spurs, the Kings tried their best, but they still lost to the powerful Spurs. The third game is at FedEx Arena in Memphis, where the two direct rivals for playoff spots are a must-win for the game, and whoever wins will have a huge advantage in the final battle for a playoff spot.

But perhaps God wasn't on the side of the Kings, and the two teams fought until the last minute, when a Cousins missed the ball at a critical moment and ended up ruining the game. After the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Kings' playoff hopes have become a little slimmer, but with three regular season games to go, it's not over yet.

On the final road trip, the Kings packed up their mood and beat the Golden State Warriors cleanly. Luckily, the Memphis Grizzlies faced the Hornets, who are ranked 7th in the West, after defeating the Kings, and eventually experienced a tug-of-war, and the Grizzlies also lost to the Smoothie Kings Center Arena.

At this time, both the Kings and the Grizzlies have two regular season games left, the Kings are in 9th place in the West with 43 wins and 37 losses, and the Grizzlies are 8th in the West with 44 wins and 36 losses, and the Grizzlies have a 3-1 advantage in the total of 4 meetings between the two teams. In the next two regular season games, as long as the Grizzlies win one, even if the Kings win both games, the Grizzlies will be the last to get a playoff spot. Now the Kings have to go all out to win their final two games, while praying that the Grizzlies will win both games.

The Grizzlies' final two opponents are the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers, which are strong but not too strong, while the Kings' opponents are the Oklahoma City Thunder in fourth place in the West and the Los Angeles Lakers in second place in the West......