#Headline Creation Challenge#After the Milwaukee Bucks became the first NBA team to receive a playoff ticket this season, Western Conference leader Denver Nuggets finally became the second team in the league to receive a playoff ticket today, and after an embarrassing four-game losing streak, they finally found a sense of victory in the Detroit Pistons, the Eastern Conference belly team, and finally they won 119-100 on the road to end their four-game losing streak. It also became the first team in the West to receive a playoff ticket.
Although the NBA playoffs qualification competition is still fierce, in fact, in addition to the situation where the top teams in the East and West are sure to get playoff tickets, the teams in second and third place in the East and West have basically locked in two playoff tickets in their respective divisions, and the Satramento Kings continue to consolidate their second place in the West after beating the Brooklyn Nets on the road today, ahead of the seventh-place Timberwolves in the West by as many as 7.5 wins, with twelve or three games left on the schedule. Basically not too many surprises! The Grizzlies behind him also have a seven-game lead. Among the Eastern Conference teams, the 76ers and Celtics, who are second and third, have a greater advantage, leading by more than 10 games, and the playoffs are a sure thing!
Among the six teams that have locked in or basically got playoff tickets, the most surprising team is the Satramento Kings who have been rotten for many years, this 10,000-year-old fish-belly team has ushered in a complete turnaround this season, ranking basically in the top three in the West, although they have not really got a playoff ticket this season, but in the case of the regular season, as long as they do not make mistakes, there is basically no suspense. And they will be on the playoff stage again after 17 years.
For the Kings, many veteran fans may be no strangers. Their last playoff appearance was in the distant 2005-2006 season, when they last made the playoffs as eighth in the West, and since then they have entered a long road to rebuilding that has gradually broken the embarrassing record of the NBA not making the playoffs for many consecutive years.
The record of missing the playoffs in consecutive years in the NBA originally belonged to the Los Angeles Clippers, who had an embarrassing record of missing the playoffs for 15 consecutive years, but with the Kings finally missing the playoffs last season, this embarrassing record also came to the Kings, and they also extended this record to 16 years.
This season, the Kings poached Mike Brown, who had coached LeBron James, from the Warriors' bench, and it was this operation that brought revival to the team. Last year's trade deadline, the Kings and Pacers reached a big deal with Hield and Sabonis, and it was this deal that brought revival to the team, coupled with the steady play of Fox, Barnes, Huerter, Monk and other main teams, their record this season skyrocketed, and after today's victory over the Nets, the record also reached 42-27, which is also their best record in 17 years, and they are expected to continue to improve this season to hit the 50-win record!
The Kings at the beginning of the 21st century have been a Western Conference powerhouse, they advanced to the playoffs for seven consecutive years from 2000 to 2006, and the golden generation of players such as Divac, Bibby, and Petjakovic was the guarantee of the Kings' stable record, but since the 05-06 season, as Divac retired and the core players aged, the Kings began to fall apart, and since then they have entered a long road of rebuilding.
Another reason the Kings have been sinking for years is that the draft vision and the development of high-ranking rookies over the years are really terrible. In 16 years, they have held high picks many times, except for the past of selecting Cousins, the other selected rookies have basically performed mediocre, missing Thompson with Fredette in '11, Thomas Robinson missing Lillard in '12, McLemo missing Alphabet Brother in '13, Stauskas missing LaVine in '14, Kaulistan missing Booker in '15, Chris missing Siakam in '16, Fox missing Mitchell in '17, and Bagley missing Doncic and Trae Young in '18. And most of these players are currently unknown, basically not meeting the expectations of fans.
Now, as the regular season draws to a close, the Kings are getting closer to their first playoff trip in 17 years. In the midst of a scuffle among the top performers in the Western Conference playoffs this season, the Kings were able to finally get out of the competition, which also surprised everyone! I also hope that this overall civilian team can have a better performance in the playoffs!