SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings went into Phoenix on a buzzing night as Kevin Durant made his debut on the Suns’ bench and came away with a loss, dropping Sacramento’s lead over the Suns in the standings to just one game.
Despite the disappointment of the loss to the depleted Suns, it’s not time to panic, said host Matt George on a postgame edition of the Locked On Kings podcast.
“With it being a road game, the context of the standings, and still how good this core is together and how experience this Suns team is … I’m not saying I’m OK with this loss, I’m not saying this loss is acceptable, I’m also not saying it’s surprising,” George said.
The Kings’ history and their middling play of late might make some Kings fans waver, but the lead they built up in the standings and the foundation they’ve developed with the talent and chemistry of the roster are still there.
“Of course a win always helps, but I’m not concerned about the Kings and their ability to hold a top-six seed because they lost to the Phoenix Suns tonight,” George said.
As the team heads into the stretch run with two All-Stars and a real chance at holding home court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, one loss doesn’t change anything, especially considering the overall talent of the Suns.
“This team is completely different than anything we’ve seen in the past, so I try not to allow my fears of things going wrong based on the last 16 years to affect my decision-making when it comes to this team,” George said.
It’s just too early to let individual slip-ups cause panic about this Kings team.