HB: Kings need to ‘finish out’ season despite missing playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Despite the Kings being officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday with their 50th loss of the season, Harrison Barnes believes Sacramento still has plenty to look forward to when it comes to future success.
Sacramento has just three games left following its 109-90 loss to the Golden State Warriors at the Golden 1 Center Sunday evening, and Barnes would like to see the team finish strong so that they can carry any leftover momentum into next season.
“I think the most important thing right now is finishing out these three games,” Barnes told reporters after the game. “… Although we’re eliminated from the playoffs, I think for the guys who are playing right now, continue to finish out those three games with the same focus that we’ve had all year and then after the season, you can reset and evaluate and go from there.”
The 29-year-old forward led the scoring effort for the Kings in their loss to Golden State, the current No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, and recorded a double-double against his former team with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting and 10 rebounds. The loss and subsequent elimination marked the 16th straight season Sacramento has missed the postseason — an NBA record for the longest such drought.
After delaying their elimination during their five-game road trip, the Kings welcomed Golden State to Sacramento and put up a fight — including a 12-0 run in the 4th quarter which put them within seven points of the Warriors. The Kings only led once when they jumped out to a 6-3 lead during the game’s first two minutes.
Though Barnes has only been on the Kings since 2019, he said the postseason dry-spell has been “difficult.” Much of it falls back on a lack of stability with the team, he said, noting that he and De’Aaron Fox are the only starters still in Sacramento from when he first arrived.
“… As I’ve been here, it’s been a lot of up and down. It’s been a lot of tough times. It’s been a lot of changing parts roster-wise, coaching-wise, front office-wise,” Barnes said. “So I think moving forward, in order to establish a culture where people feel equity, and to feel the need to want to change that narrative as opposed to Sacramento simply just being a stop on the way either to another team or out of the league.
“We just have to embody that and those are conversations that we’ve had as a group.”
How do the Kings establish that identity? Leaders have to step up as the season comes to an end, and well into the next.
Rookie Davion Mitchell is coming into his own, Barnes said. Despite shooting just 4-of-11 on Sunday with 9 points and 9 assists, the 23-year-old point guard is making a name for himself, playing the most minutes against the Warriors with 38:26.
“Davion has made major strides so far, just being a guard, being a starting point guard and having that responsibility, seeing different coverages, seeing a team’s best defender on him,” Barnes said of Mitchell.
Then there’s 25-year-old Donte DiVincenzo, Barnes added, who has found his rhythm on the court since arriving in Sacramento. The shooting guard finished with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting against the Warriors, right behind center Damian Jones, who had 17 points, six rebounds and two assists on the night.
Barnes commended the 26-year-old Jones for his “unbelievable summer of work,” and credited him for developing into an expanded role for the Kings after seeing little playing time at the beginning of the season.
It’s this young core that will help the Kings have something to look forward to next season, and DiVincenzo hopes to be a part of it.
RELATED: Davion believes he, Fox or Hali had to be traded by Kings
“… Even though there’s that drought, the fans are absolutely incredible. Night in and night out, they come in, they’re cheering and they’re loud … We have to give them something to be loud for, for us,” DiVincenzo said. “I think our step, our growth going into the offseason, going into next year is, we have to have guys that are on the same page … I don’t focus on the 16 years. I’m looking forward to trying to help this team make the playoffs. That’s my goal.”
The Kings will look to end the season on a high note with their final three games this season and will welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday.
