Kings' Star DeMar DeRozan Discusses Team's Competitive Spirit

If there's one thing for sure about this Kings team, it's that they are filled with players and a coach in Christie who want to win. Between DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and Russell Westbrook, they have four former All-Stars and at least two future Hall-of-Famers. That's typically a group that should theoretically do well.

But so far, the Kings have just three wins in ten tries and sit tied for 11th in the tough Western Conference. It doesn't help that they've had two back-to-back blowout losses that have quickly made morale plummet throughout Sacramento.

But DeRozan seemed confident the team could get back on track. When asked about what the Kings biggest opportunity was, he pointed to tonight's matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

"Having a game tonight, it's always the biggest opportunity, knowing you still have an opportunity. So just trying to take advantage of that next opportunity and build off that to try and get that spirit back."

That's the nice thing about the NBA. There's always another game (unless it's the end of the season, of course). And with schedules so compacted now, players typically don't have to wait long to get back out on the court.

The phrase winning cures everything isn't such a popular phrase for no reason. Like DeRozan said, if they can get a few wins under their belt and their spirit back, it's still early enough in the season that they can climb back in the postseason race.

It won't be easy, especially if Sabonis misses the game, but Sacramento has shown flashes early on in the season that they can hang with anyone on the court. That's what's made the beginning of the year so frustrating for both fans and players. They have the talent, but Sacramento has a lot to fix on both sides of the ball, so it will be easier said than done.

If the Kings continue to struggle, though, we could be in for a very wild ride as the trade deadline approaches. There are already rumors flying about the Kings rebuilding and trading veterans, so the team will have to get back on track quickly if they want to avoid that direction.