Sacramento will aim to close out the season strong while facing a team also on a similar downturn.
The Sacramento Kings now have one less thing to worry about: Grabbing their 20th win of the regular season.
But now it's about finishing strong, regardless of what the scoreboard looks like.
So many thoughts hover above the franchise; from NBA Draft prospects to mapping out the future roster. But Friday's opponent falls under a similar boat.
The New Orleans Pelicans are another looking into a rebuilding mode. In an alternate universe, the Pelicans would be in contention for the top pick of the June draft.
Except they traded that pick away, leaving them to wait until the second round to make a selection.
Sacramento is in a far better position draft capital wise. But what about ahead of the Friday game inside the Golden 1 Center? Who's the real favorite here?
It's the Pelicans at only 5.5-points according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Although the Kings were a huge underdog in their last game against the playoff bound Toronto Raptors.
The win looks great on paper. But does it help Doug Christie keep his head coaching job?
Bailey Bassett of ClutchPoints believes the Kings and Christie should go in a different direction.
"Doug Christie is an example of someone recently whose team liked his performance as interim coach enough that he was handed the full reins. The Kings entered this season trying to be competitive. They gave Dennis Schroder a sizeable contract to ensure veterans Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan had a point guard to get them the ball. The Kings have been far from competitive, though," Bassett wrote.
He added what could become fireable offenses for Christie.
"They are dead last in the Western Conference with just a 20-57 record. The team's brand of basketball is super outdated, too. They are last in 3-point makes and 2-point field goal percentage, which doesn't even make a lot of sense," Bassett said.
Now the feeling is the Kings should reignite the franchise with Caleb Wilson of North Carolina, with Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo! Sports making that prediction.
"If the Kings were to draft him, it’s a gamble that he’s a higher upside player because of his size. But he’s raw and it might take a while to find out what he’ll become," O'Connor wrote.
Meanwhile, the Kings have moved out of sparking first overall pick chatter with their wins (though the lottery system could still reward them with the No. 1 selection).
NBC Sports California will air the Kings-Pelicans for the 7 p.m. PT audience.
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