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The Sacramento Kings are on the cusp of securing a spot in the play-in tournament; their 127-117 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night means that they only need to win one more game (or for the Phoenix Suns to lose one more) to seal their place in the postseason. After being in a rut not too long ago, the Kings have come alive in recent games — with Zach LaVine scorching the nets over his past two games, as he followed up his 37-point night in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 43-piece against the Pistons.
With the Kings wanting to remain semi-competitive, they sought out LaVine as one of the main pieces that they got in the De'Aaron Fox trade. And to end the regular season, their acquisition of LaVine is paying off. These scoring outbursts, however, are a familiar sight to DeMar DeRozan, who's seen LaVine tear up the opposition up close dating back to their playing days together on the Chicago Bulls.
“It's nothing new for me. I've seen it,” DeRozan said in his postgame interview with NBC Sports California. “I just told him to keep going. He was hot. He led us. Without him getting hot, we would not have gotten this win that we got. It was big.”
“It's nothing new for me. I've seen it.”
DeMar DeRozan wasn't surprised to see Zach LaVine catch fire tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CxLUxXpRVV
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 8, 2025
When LaVine has got it going, he becomes a very difficult player to stop. He can get a shot off whenever he wants to, and his stroke is automatic once he catches fire. In his 43-piece to lead the Kings to their most recent win, LaVine shot 16-28 from the field and 8-11 from beyond the arc, stretching the Pistons' defense past its breaking point.
These herculean efforts are exactly what the Kings need from LaVine as they look to defy the odds and make it to the playoffs as the eight-seed.
Can the Kings find play-in redemption?
This year is shaping up to be a lot similar to last year for the Kings. As one would recall, the Kings were in the 9/10 play-in game last season and overcame the Golden State Warriors — only to fall flat against the Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans in the battle for the eight-seed.
If Zach LaVine were to catch fire, then the Kings should be the favorite to take the 9/10 play-in game (provided that they seal their place in the tournament) regardless of whether they match up against the Dallas Mavericks or the Suns. The battle for the eight-seed will be tricky considering the gulf in quality between the eighth and nint-seeds in the West, but in a single-game setting, anything can happen.
