Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton tied his career-high 23 points Tuesday night at Barclays Center. He played a major role in orchestrating the offense, but the Kings lost 127-118 to the Brooklyn Nets.
The NBA released the second-half schedule on Wednesday afternoon and compared to the first half of the season, the Kings have it easy.
Sacramento was lucky to have just two games canceled during the first half, a back-to-back against the Memphis Grizzlies. The league fit into the last week of the second-half schedule.
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The Kings’ first-half schedule to date was the most difficult in the league with a win percentage of .519 by the team’s opponents. The second half is projected as the 24th most difficult in the league.
Sacramento still has five games before the All-Star break, including a back-to-back on Thursday and Friday on the road in New York and Detroit. Following a back-to-back against the Lakers and Trail Blazers on March 3-4, the Kings get a six-day layoff for the All-Star break.
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Here are a couple of notes from the second half schedule:
- Sacramento plays eight sets of back-to-backs in the second half. Of the eight, three are home-home, three are away-away, one is home-away and one is away home.
- The Kings embark on their longest road trip of the season, a six-game stretch, beginning on March 13 and concluding March 22. They’ll visit Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and Cleveland with just one set of back-to-backs (Celtics, 76ers) during the stretch.
- The team’s longest homestand is just three games, which happens twice. One of those three game sets includes a home-home back-to-back against the Hawks and Warriors.
- The NBA trade deadline is March 25, which coincides with the back-to-back against the Hawks and Warriors on March 24-25. That leaves the possibility of a short-handed squad if moves are made at the deadline.
- The Kings do not appear on TNT, but they have four games that appear on NBA TV in the second half. NBC Sports California will televise all 72 games this season, including the four on NBA TV.
- Of the three months of scheduling, March is the most lopsided with the Kings playing four games at Golden 1 Center and eight on the road. In April, the Kings play eight home games and seven on the road and they finish up in May with four home games and five away.
