With their 109-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, the Sacramento Kings sit 10 games under .500 at 17-27. In almost any other season, that would mean that they were dead in the water in the Western Conference playoff race. But this it the 2016-17 season where anything is possible at the bottom.
Following Sacramento's win at the Palace at Auburn Hills, DeMarcus Cousins was asked about the playoff picture.
"It's my only goal this season," Cousins told reporters following the game. "My only goal."
When pushed on the subject, he gave a more complete answer.
"Oh man, it's eating me alive - every loss or every time another team wins that's battling for the eighth spot, it's eating me alive," Cousins added. "Our only goal is to be in the playoffs this season."
The Kings snapped a five-game losing streak with the win over the Pistons and they came into the evening just 2-10 over their previous 12 games.
Sports
Once they get through their current eight game road trip, they spend the entire month of February in the Pacific time zone and play 11 over their next 13 games at Golden 1 Center.
"The one thing I can give credit to this team about is us staying together and being a positive locker room through the ups and downs," Cousins said. "I'm still confident and I still believe we're going to make that push for the playoffs."
Despite the rough patch, the Kings remain just a game and a half out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings. No one is running away with that last playoff spot, at least not yet.
