The Official We're Talking Playoffs Thread

How Many Wins Do you Think It Will Take to Win #8?

  • 45 or more

    Votes: 7 9.2%
  • 44

    Votes: 2 2.6%
  • 43

    Votes: 7 9.2%
  • 42

    Votes: 12 15.8%
  • 41

    Votes: 15 19.7%
  • 40

    Votes: 15 19.7%
  • 39

    Votes: 5 6.6%
  • 38

    Votes: 8 10.5%
  • 37

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • 36 or less

    Votes: 4 5.3%

  • Total voters
    76
  • Poll closed .
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#31
As a fan, being excited is one thing, and talking playoffs prematurely is another. Its good that they've won 4 in a row, but my point is last year's team won 5 in a row and promptly nose-dived. So from this example, from the same organization no less, yes its too early. Win streaks are certainly needed to make the playoffs, but tempered, rational thought ought to be the order, especially with this team which is getting its first taste of winning with hard work, and it could be argued, is not as talented as the majority of other teams in the league. Do you think the Kings personnel are actually talking about playoffs right now? No, they're talking about their next opponent (singular); so ought we to be realistic...........yes, the poppies smell nice, but they're not real.
Lawson just literally finished talking about the playoff race and putting distance between Portland and Denver in his post game interview.
 
#34
When the team wasn't playing well early in the season, many had no problems burying them already. I see no problem with somebody doing the exact opposite.
What is the exact opposite? Shall we anoint the Kings as playoff-ready after a 4 game win-streak? I think some of the other posters have hit the right note on this: making and sustaining .500...."crawling before walking". That is the more tangible but challenging goal for this team and on-point topic.
 
#35
More than a third of the way into the season, the kings are a game ahead in the 8th spot, they have won 4 in a row, fans are excited about how they are playing, it's a fan board. Yeah, not too early for this thread.

For goodness sakes, we're fans if we can't be excited when our team is doing well, why be fans? Do we have to wait until 3/4 or 7/8 of the way through the season to get excited and start a thread?
I agree it's early I say wait till the last 5 games of the season to make this thread
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#38
What is the exact opposite? Shall we anoint the Kings as playoff-ready after a 4 game win-streak? I think some of the other posters have hit the right note on this: making and sustaining .500...."crawling before walking". That is the more tangible but challenging goal for this team and on-point topic.
It's a playoff talk thread and you want to come on here and tell others it's too early and try and justify it to others who want to talk playoffs? Hahaha.
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
#39
More than a third of the way into the season, the kings are a game ahead in the 8th spot, they have won 4 in a row, fans are excited about how they are playing, it's a fan board. Yeah, not too early for this thread.

For goodness sakes, we're fans if we can't be excited when our team is doing well, why be fans? Do we have to wait until 3/4 or 7/8 of the way through the season to get excited and start a thread?
If 3/4 of the way is their minimum, we can (re-)start this thread at halftime of the Jazz game on March 5th. For 7/8, it is the start of the 4th Q against the Warriors on March 24th. ;)

Either way that seems a bit too far out for me, considering where we have been the past few years. We've played 37.8% of our games. That seems to be a healthy representative sample to start with. Let's enjoy it while it lasts, and maybe it will carry over past 82 games!
 
#42
If 3/4 of the way is their minimum, we can (re-)start this thread at halftime of the Jazz game on March 5th. For 7/8, it is the start of the 4th Q against the Warriors on March 24th. ;)

Either way that seems a bit too far out for me, considering where we have been the past few years. We've played 37.8% of our games. That seems to be a healthy representative sample to start with. Let's enjoy it while it lasts, and maybe it will carry over past 82 games!
Consider last year at 20-23 on Jan 23, 2016 as a marker for implosion near mid-season.....but I like your 7/8 of the way idea....that is if they've still managed to be 3 games under .500 at that point, what would it take to make the playoffs?
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#43
As a fan, being excited is one thing, and talking playoffs prematurely is another. Its good that they've won 4 in a row, but my point is last year's team won 5 in a row and promptly nose-dived. So from this example, from the same organization no less, yes its too early. Win streaks are certainly needed to make the playoffs, but tempered, rational thought ought to be the order, especially with this team which is getting its first taste of winning with hard work, and it could be argued, is not as talented as the majority of other teams in the league. Do you think the Kings personnel are actually talking about playoffs right now? No, they're talking about their next opponent (singular); so ought we to be realistic...........yes, the poppies smell nice, but they're not real.
This comes across as passive-aggressive way of trying to tell Kings Fans that they're being fans wrong.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#44
I agree it's early I say wait till the last 5 games of the season to make this thread
If 3/4 of the way is their minimum, we can (re-)start this thread at halftime of the Jazz game on March 5th. For 7/8, it is the start of the 4th Q against the Warriors on March 24th. ;)
That's still too early. We shouldn't even think about starting a playoffs thread until Mother's Day. #Poppies
 
#45
You are going to need to take a break from this thread to head over and write a comment to CBS sports.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/n...s-the-way-too-early-playoff-race-examination/

They are talking playoffs with the kings as frontrunner for the 8th spot.

Please remind them to temper their enthusiasm.
Hmmm, you mean comments for the "nba-standings-week-10-schedule-insights-the-way-too-early-playoff-race-examination"?
A little different title than "The Official We're Talking Playoffs Thread" eh?...

I won't remind them, but I will remind you, Parker (Mr. Batpoopoo), as you seem to be more in need of it. Take 2 temperance pills and call us in the morning if need be.
 
#49
IMO, 8th seed is not enough.

I've thought about it, and I don't see how the franchise benefits that much if they battle their hardest against Denver/Portland/Pelicans for the 8th seed, only to meet up with the biggest buzz-saw in (arguably) the history of the sport in the Warriors in the first round, and would only win whatever games the Warriors would want to lose.
Watching the Warriors toy with their opponents like a cat playing with a mouse before he kills it, I don't see how Demarcus and Co. getting destroyed by the Dubs is a very successful season.

Better than the past, sure, but it's not the kind of success that they (or we) should be targeting.

I think the Kings' goal should be catching one of the teams above them - either the Jazz, Thunder, or Grizz.

If they could do that, they could matchup against the Spurs in the first round - now THAT's a matchup the Kings might easier do some damage against.
I think we match up much better against them - they've had to play some damn good ball to beat us, and our strengths might be noted more and players might want to come here next year and the future.

I just don't think 8th seed (and an embarrassing drubbing by the Dubs) should be the goal of the season....
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#51
If they took the 8th seed and played the Warriors.....winning A game against them would be tremendous. Winning 2 would make the city go crazy again. Battling every game and getting swept, but battling out close games would be a stretch in the right direction.
 
#52
As a fan, being excited is one thing, and talking playoffs prematurely is another. Its good that they've won 4 in a row, but my point is last year's team won 5 in a row and promptly nose-dived. So from this example, from the same organization no less, yes its too early. Win streaks are certainly needed to make the playoffs, but tempered, rational thought ought to be the order, especially with this team which is getting its first taste of winning with hard work, and it could be argued, is not as talented as the majority of other teams in the league. Do you think the Kings personnel are actually talking about playoffs right now? No, they're talking about their next opponent (singular); so ought we to be realistic...........yes, the poppies smell nice, but they're not real.
If you can't talk about a team being in the playoff picture when they currently hold a playoff position, when can you talk about it?
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#54
If the plan for the Kings is to move forward with Cousins, try to make the playoffs this season and re-tool on the fly, then absolutely we can talk about the playoffs right now. The season is past the 1/3 mark, heading to the halfway point and the Kings aren't just in position to fight for the 8th seed, they are the 8th seed.

In general 41 wins is what gets the 8th spot. Every few years a team with a losing record takes that slot and when the west was very strong you could win 46 games and miss out. But I think a .500 record gets it this season. And while the pessimistic view is that the Kings let a bad Sixers team nearly beat them at home, the bigger story to me is that the Kings have been winning close games lately. Games that I've come to expect them to choke away the last few years. Boogie is stepping up big time in the clutch and the defense has been there. This is a team that is fighting. And they've now found themselves in possession of 8th place. And I think they have the ability to keep it.
 
#55
If you can't talk about a team being in the playoff picture when they currently hold a playoff position, when can you talk about it?
Tele, Your remark reminds me of instant gratification, fan-wise. As I wrote earlier, recall the cautionary example of the team last season - @ 20-23, an even better mark further into the season what then had happened. The elusive .500 winning percentage, had slipped away and faded out over the next 15+ games. With the car analogy, The Kings ran out of gas for whatever reasons. Will they run out of gas this year? Maybe, maybe not, but setting up a camera at the finish line when there's still 120 laps to go is silly. I'm just hoping in the next 10 laps they improve their position against the cars around them, and even more so, stay with the lead pack (obtain and sustain a .500 winning percentage) .
 
#56
Funny how the national media does not even have one positive story on the Kings being #8 in the playoff chase, but earlier in the year there was so many stories about how DMC was a cancer and the Kings and Vlade were fools.

Remember how many endless stories we had to endure about the Upstart Lakers and their miraculous ascension to playoff contender under Luke Walton!!!

Shame on the national (and local) news media for not at least acknowledging that the Kings are doing much better than anticipated! :eek:
 
#57
IMO, 8th seed is not enough.

I've thought about it, and I don't see how the franchise benefits that much if they battle their hardest against Denver/Portland/Pelicans for the 8th seed, only to meet up with the biggest buzz-saw in (arguably) the history of the sport in the Warriors in the first round, and would only win whatever games the Warriors would want to lose.
Watching the Warriors toy with their opponents like a cat playing with a mouse before he kills it, I don't see how Demarcus and Co. getting destroyed by the Dubs is a very successful season.

Better than the past, sure, but it's not the kind of success that they (or we) should be targeting.

I think the Kings' goal should be catching one of the teams above them - either the Jazz, Thunder, or Grizz.

If they could do that, they could matchup against the Spurs in the first round - now THAT's a matchup the Kings might easier do some damage against.
I think we match up much better against them - they've had to play some damn good ball to beat us, and our strengths might be noted more and players might want to come here next year and the future.

I just don't think 8th seed (and an embarrassing drubbing by the Dubs) should be the goal of the season....
I would be quite pleased if the Kings made the playoffs against the Warriors - beyond pleased really. I'm not that picky. It would mean a big-time improvement and buy-in from the team, the proverbial punching above their talent-weight....what King fan wouldn't love that? I did thoroughly enjoy the last playoffs series in 2006, where they did put a scare into the Spurs. It was sad to see Wells run away next year, after looking so good for the Kings.
In this years situation supposing they made the eighth seed, they may run into the buzz-saw, but if they make it that far, they will have earned it, and I'd fathom Lawson to be up for most improved player of the year and playing at an even higher level. Lawson's story to me is the most interesting on the team this year - a redemption.
 
#58
If they took the 8th seed and played the Warriors.....winning A game against them would be tremendous. Winning 2 would make the city go crazy again. Battling every game and getting swept, but battling out close games would be a stretch in the right direction.
Yep. Plus rivalries are made in the playoffs. Would be great to get that going with the Warriors. They would away us away right now, but the history would start building.
 
#59
Tele, Your remark reminds me of instant gratification, fan-wise. As I wrote earlier, recall the cautionary example of the team last season - @ 20-23, an even better mark further into the season what then had happened. The elusive .500 winning percentage, had slipped away and faded out over the next 15+ games. With the car analogy, The Kings ran out of gas for whatever reasons. Will they run out of gas this year? Maybe, maybe not, but setting up a camera at the finish line when there's still 120 laps to go is silly. I'm just hoping in the next 10 laps they improve their position against the cars around them, and even more so, stay with the lead pack (obtain and sustain a .500 winning percentage) .
It has nothing to do with instant gratification. It is about talking about the CURRENT state of the team. Saying we can't talk about it NOW because they might go on a losing streak is simply a pessimistic way of looking at things. I know some would say they are just being realistic, but that is a cop out. Realism is dealing with the here and now while also looking at what the future could be. It is not looking at the present and predetermining the future (only one view) based on what has happened in the past.

You can try to compare this year to last year, but there are far too many differences to make that comparison. The relationship between team & coach is much different. The lay of the Western Conference is different. The make up of the team is also different.
Now this doesn't mean that the current team won't implode, but it also means there are a number of reasons to think that they won't. And this is the whole point to why it will be talked about.
 
#60
Tele, Your remark reminds me of instant gratification, fan-wise. As I wrote earlier, recall the cautionary example of the team last season - @ 20-23, an even better mark further into the season what then had happened. The elusive .500 winning percentage, had slipped away and faded out over the next 15+ games. With the car analogy, The Kings ran out of gas for whatever reasons. Will they run out of gas this year? Maybe, maybe not, but setting up a camera at the finish line when there's still 120 laps to go is silly. I'm just hoping in the next 10 laps they improve their position against the cars around them, and even more so, stay with the lead pack (obtain and sustain a .500 winning percentage) .
For gosh sakes, who cares. Life is too short to give lectures about the proper way for fans to assess their current emotional feelings about a sports team. If people want to be excited and (in your view) hold unrealistic expectations, does that really matter? Feels like you are just setting up a later "told you so" thread when things collapse -- which is a pretty good bet given the Kings history. Think of it this way, if this is the high point of the season, can't people have some fun and be full of positive expectations for a few days? Or is the only purpose of our fandom to be cautious and apprehensive until the day they are finally in the playoffs?

Damn, maybe in just older than you, but life is too short. Other than the fact that we are talking about the Kings here, I'd say there is more reason to believe the team will get better, not worse, as we go through the season (getting used to a new coach, easier schedule, possible trades, etc). My optimism will not "jinx" the team.
 
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