The 2024 Playoff Chase Thread

Very outside - Kings have used up their cushion....they have to win pretty much all their games and hope the pelicans and Suns lose 1 more other game.....that's porbably like a 1 in 50 chance the Kings win all 5 remaining games by itself - how inconsistnet they've looked. With injureds and track record, not in the cards this year.

This got me a chuckle - this is objective day 1 for every team.

Yeah I wouldn’t bet on it but I don’t think it’s next to no chance of happening. It mainly comes down to beating both PHX and NOP so they at least can control a good chunk of their destiny with those games.

Would be fantastic if they can pull that off. The play-in scares the hell outta me

I dont think they're winning both those games - maybe one or the other.

I want to get the play-in in hopes of drawing the 7akers so we can get them started on their summer vacations

Kings are at the point where simply just winning games is no longer enough. Not only do u have to go at minimum 4-1 or better, you also have to hope the other teams lose more than half their remaining games. Hate to not really have control of your own destiny and needing help from other teams, but it is what it is. At best 7th or 8th seed is still highly probable. 6th is just blind hope.

This article is interesting for all the wrong reasons.
5 best teams in NBA history to miss the playoffs

This team is one of the most frustrating squads I can remember. Yes we have some wins under our belt but they have yet to fire on all cylinders.

I feel like expectations and the fact that the West is having an unprecedented season with 11 teams still having a good shot at finishing above .500 - potentially 3 teams might make their way into that list I just posted - is dramatically contributing to how uneasy this season is.

Throw in the stupid pick protection on our pick which could bite us... god I hate pick protections when they are not top 10 or top 4.

The 5th place team on that list had 45 wins. If we win only one more game, then at least one team will miss the playoffs this year with at least 45 wins. I'd be surprised if there weren't at least one 47-win team to miss out this year.

completely possible half the list is from this year at season's end?I guess that would require all the top 11 teams winning out. so probably not. but 2 out of 5 seems likely.

I wonder if there are any examples of teams dropping the protections in exchange for draft capital, say a seconder or something?. If we miss the playoffs we would have the 14th pick likely, that is about as high as the pick is going to be for Atlanta. Would they just take it now?

If we’re stuck with it let’s draft Bronny and get two years of LeBron and the ref bias that comes with it.

but yeah probably cost us a second to get off it.

unless they really love a player in this weak draft, they will be under no obligation to take this year's pick without extra compensation.

Yah we win like 2 in a row then lose one.. Win two more then lose two more. This team is incapable of having any kind of run, because it seems every 3rd game they come out and just flat out suck. Like real bad. Losing to the worst teams in the league by a lot for some reason. It has to be a culture thing. I see the whole not caring issue in Fox's games this season. It's like he's fired up for a game or two then just turns into the silent one. Maybe we should start looking to unload him. Never a huge fan of Fox, like a lot of people here.

Right that’s why I asked if there are examples of teams taking off the protections in exchange for a pick. The pick is protected no matter what. There is a good chance that this will be the highest that pick ever gets. If they holds on to it and the kings make the playoffs next year it could be way lower.

Mavs about to lose to Houston? Edit: nvm wow the Rockets choked freethrows

Typically a pick is worth more today than it is tomorrow but in this case I suppose it could literally come down to the 5 minutes between pick 13 and 14.

And at that moment if a covetable player is there, I guess we have even more flexibility. Just that appears to be above expectations for this draft.

Houston chokejob about as bad can be imagined. Dallas is not likely to be caught now.

Jabari Sr would’ve hit those free throws. Just sayin

Looks like the warriors with the 10th spot solidified, will be resting curry for tonight's game against the jazz.. I wonder if it'll be the same case when they play the lakers and the pelicans. Hate to need help, but we'll need the warriors to beat the lakers and pelicans and warriors without curry I don't think can beat the lakers or pelicans.

Now tied with the Lakers, who play at home against the Timberwolves very shortly. Meanwhile, New Orleans and Phoenix are also tied, one full game ahead.

Kings need to stay away from 9th and 10th to give themselves a chance. Back in 8 now!

They likely play him in games that have post season implications

All things considered, i'm pretty amazed that we still have a shot at catching and surpassing these teams.

wait for it......just look at the loss column

It's probably time to start looking at multi-team tiebreaker scenarios. We could very easily end up in a three- or four- team tiebreaker with any of PHX, NOP, and LAL.

Suns: 46-32; 2-2 SAC (+1), 1-3 LAL, 2-1 NOP; 7-8 division (+3); 26-22 conference (+4)
Pelicans: 46-32; 4-0 SAC (+1), 1-2 PHX, 1-2 LAL (+1); 27-21 conference (+4)
Kings: 45-33; 4-0 LAL, 2-2 PHX (+1), 0-4 NOP (+1); 10-6 division (+1); 29-19 conference (+4)
Lakers: 45-33; 0-4 SAC, 3-1 PHX, 2-1 NOP (+1); 7-9 division (+1); 25-23 conference (+4)




So let's see...
Kings-Suns-Pelicans 3-way tie
Kings: 2-6 (+2)
Suns: 4-3 (+1)
Pelicans: 5-2 (+1)
Tie finishes NOP > PHX > SAC regardless of exactly how the two upcoming games play out (if NOP/PHX go to conference record, NOP wins)

Kings-Suns-Lakers 3-way tie
Kings: 6-2 (+1)
Suns: 4-5 (+1)
Lakers: 2-5
Tie finishes SAC > PHX > LAL regardless of how the SAC/PHX game plays out

Kings-Pelicans-Lakers 3-way tie
Kings: 4-4 (+1)
Pelicans: 5-2 (+2)
Lakers: 2-5 (+1)
Tie finishes NOP > SAC > LAL, unless NOP loses to both SAC and LAL. If that happens, tiebreaker is SAC > NOP (conference record) > LAL

Kings-Pelicans-Lakers-Suns 4-way tie
Kings: 6-6 (+2)
Pelicans: 6-4 (+2)
Lakers: 5-6 (+1)
Suns: 5-6 (+1)
OK, this one is complicated. Let's play out the various scenarios:

If SAC > NOP, SAC > PHX, LAL > NOP then:
Tie finishes SAC(8-6) > NOP(6-6) > LAL(6-6, lose on conf.) > PHX(5-7)

If SAC > NOP, SAC > PHX, NOP > LAL then:
Tie finishes NOP(7-5) > SAC(8-6) > probably LAL(5-7) > PHX(5-7, goes to division record, but could go the other way based on remaining games)

If SAC > NOP, PHX > SAC, LAL > NOP then: (all teams are .500 in head to head, SAC wins on conf., NOP gets second on conf.)
Tie finishes SAC(7-7) > NOP(6-6) > probably LAL(6-6) > PHX(6-6, goes to division record, but could go the other way based on remaining games)

If SAC > NOP, PHX > SAC, NOP > LAL then:
Tie finishes NOP(7-5) > SAC(7-7) > PHX(6-6, lose on division) > LAL(5-7)

If NOP > SAC, SAC > PHX, LAL > NOP then:
Tie finishes NOP(7-5) > SAC(7-7) > LAL(6-6, lose on division) > PHX(5-7)

If NOP > SAC, SAC > PHX, NOP > LAL then:
Tie finishes NOP(8-4) > SAC(7-6) > probably LAL(5-7) > PHX(5-7, goes to division record, but could go the other way based on remaining games)

If NOP > SAC, PHX > SAC, LAL > NOP (very unlikely because both NOP/PHX have to go 1-3)
Tie finishes NOP(7-5) > probably LAL(6-6) > PHX(6-6) > SAC(6-8)

If NOP > SAC, PHX > SAC, NOP > LAL this four-way tie is not possible



But the bottom line is that a lot of the 3- and 4-way tie scenarios get us either the 6th or 7th seed.