"Every game is a playoff game," Willie Cauley-Stein said last week. "This is our playoffs. To get to the playoffs this is our playoffs to the playoffs."
As you can tell, the postseason remains at the top of everyone's minds as another road trip begins.
Sactown will see the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers within the next week.
The Kings sit four games behind the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs for the Western Conference's final postseason spot, which may seem insurmountable to some teams.
Not the Kings, however.
"We're in it as long as there's games left," Cauley-Stein added after another close loss, this time to the Boston Celtics.
“It’s exciting to have something to play for,” No. 00 continued. “This franchise and this city haven’t been close to something like this in awhile. It’s an exciting time to play. You want to be in this race when it comes down to the last 20 games.”
Trill's sentiment is shared throughout the locker room, as no player is shying away from the challenge, no matter what the critics say.
“This league is crazy and you never know what can happen,” De’Aaron Fox said. “Anybody can go on a run – I think the Spurs won like four or five in a row. If we string that together and they drop a couple then it’s a different race.”
Despite the positives of this season, the team isn't sharing any moral victories in the middle of their playoff hunt.
“Hopefully we can return the favor on the road (against the Celtics) and try to go 3 of 4, or 4 of 4, or split,” Hield explained. “We can’t go under .500 on the road.”
Sacramento gets their trip started with a Saturday matinee against the New York Knicks.