The Kings have dropped 17 of their last 20 games. But somehow coach Paul Westphal still smiles and proclaims not all is lost in the rash of defeats.
"We're so close to breaking through," Westphal said. "And it sounds like a broken record because we had a bad month. We could hardly win a game in January. Had a chance to get a road win against one of the top teams in the league and couldn't break through (Monday in Denver)."
The fact is the Kings are still relying on a group of largely inexperienced players and it showed last month and in the loss in Denver.
Sure, it can be said the Kings young players can't be dismissed as inexperienced since they're nearly 50 games into this season.
But then you remember a player like Tim Duncan has played in more playoff games than a few Kings have played in their entire games.
What does that mean? There's still a lot of learning to do.
"We're picking up what it takes to win," Westphal said. "We're in the process of growing as a young team and I think that we're seeing progress when we watch the film in breaking it down. The way we're helping each other. Our defense is getting better - it has a long way to go. And our offensively we're being more consistent even though the turnovers are something that we need to improve. I think we're at least having a better quality of turnover if there is such a thing."
The problem for the Kings remains focus for a whole game.
It's why the Kings can fall behind by a lot of points and then suddenly rally in the second half. It's also why the Kings can build a big lead only to see it disappear like it did in Denver.
"We had a very cohesive offense most of the game then we got into some periods of time where we for whatever reason started dribbling the clock out," Westphal said of the Denver loss. "You have to execute for 48 minutes...for whatever reason it seems like we're up to about 32 to 36 minutes."
That leaves the Kings 12 to 16 minutes away from breaking through.
From The Bee
Injuries sideline Kings' three-guard scheme By Jason Jones
From The San Antonio Express-News
Best may be yet to come for Spurs, McDyess
By Mike Monroe
Spurs' shooters won't grow passive
By Jeff McDonald
TONIGHT'S GAME
Kings (16-31) vs. San Antonio (27-19)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arco Arena.
TV: CSNCA.
Radio: KHTK (1140 AM).
Kings update: Sacramento has dropped seven consecutive games to the Spurs, including both games in San Antonio earlier this season. And after going 2-13 in January, the Kings are hoping their shooters start making shots again and their defense picks up. After ending December with 14 wins, the assumption was the Kings would have surpassed last season's total of 17 wins by now. Instead the Kings find themselves a win short of 17 and several players trying to work their ways out of slumps.
Spurs update: It seems as if San Antonio battles injuries every season. But in the end, the Spurs end up near the top of the Western Conference. The Spurs will be without Tony Parker (sprained left ankle) but have confidence in backup guard George Hill. And San Antonio will have All-Star forward Tim Duncan. He's the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 20 in points, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage.
Probable starting lineups
KINGS
No. Player Pos.
13 Tyreke Evans PG
23 Kevin Martin SG
20 Donté Greene SF
34 Jason Thompson PF
31 Spencer Hawes C
SPURS
No. Player Pos.
3 George Hill PG
8 Roger Mason Jr. SG
24 Richard Jefferson SF
21 Tim Duncan PF
34 Antonio McDyess C
- Jason Jones
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