If the Kings are to land the No. 1 pick in the June draft and have a shot to add Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin to their group of young players, they will have to avoid any sort of turnaround in the last 18 games of the season.
After their loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday, they have nine home games and nine road the rest of the way. Nine of their games come against teams that are currently in playoff position, with none tougher than Friday's home game against Cleveland. From there, the Kings -- who are 4-28 on the road this season -- have a four-game getaway through Washington, Atlanta, Charlotte and New York. Eight of their 13 games from that point are at home as the season ends in fitting form. The Kings conclude at Minnesota on April 15, where they'll be facing one of the few teams that may be threatening their position for the worst record in the league.
OKLAHOMA CITY 99, KINGS 98: The Kings ran out of time on Tuesday night at Arco Arena, when three-pointers from Francisco Garcia and Rashad McCants in the final 38 seconds pulled them within a point of the Thunder with one second left.
But while they forced a turnover on the inbounds pass, there was only 0.1 seconds left on the clock. With a tip-in the only option, Garcia heaved a pass toward the rim that Andres Nocioni couldn't steer into the basket as the Kings fell.
