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Welcome in to your morning cup of Kings. The Sacramento Kings dropped their 12th consecutive game on Saturday evening and have just two games remaining before the NBA’s All-Star break.

It has been an incredibly difficult season for fans with the team struggling to a 12-42 record, but there are some positives to point to as we head toward the final stretch.

During the latest episode of Locked On Kings, I chose to focus on some of the positives coming out of the team’s 132-126 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and how some of those positives might bleed into the way the team is coached in the last 28 games of the season.

Last place in the NBA is a dark place to be in, but the growth of Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell are on display each and every night. There are also two additional players to focus on in two-way player Daeqwon Plowden and former first round pick Devin Carter.

We aren’t putting makeup on a pig. Losing is bad and frustrating for everyone involved. But there is potential for positives to come out of this season if the young players continue to develop and expand their games.

Fans can also look forward to the potential return of Keegan Murray with the hopes that the former No. 4 overall pick will land a larger role in the offense during the post All-Star schedule. He’ll get his minutes, but the Kings need to see who and what he is moving forward as they try to build out the roster.

De’Andre Hunter joins the walking wounded

Hunter, who joined the Kings last weekend in a trade with the Cavs, caught a stray finger to the eye in Saturday’s loss and stayed down on the court for an extended period of time.

When he was eventually helped to the locker room, it was with the aid of the training staff and with a towel over his face. On Sunday morning the Kings updated Hunter’s status and it isn’t great.

The 28-year-old forward is out with iritis in his left eye and will be out until after the All-Star break.

Hunter joins Malik Monk, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray who have already been ruled out for Monday’s matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans. Domantas Sabonis is listed as questionable with lower back inflammation and Doug McDermott is also questionable with right shoulder soreness.

Game Coverage from Saturday’s loss

In case you missed it, the Kings fell again. Like every game, I turned to social media to breakdown the game using Six Quick Thoughts, which we’ll drop in here.

So close. The Kings looked like they might snap their extended losing streak Saturday night at Golden 1 Center, but in the end, it wasn't to be. The Cavs hit buckets late and the Kings didn't. Here are six quick thoughts as the Kings dropped their 12th straight, this one by a final of 132-126:

🏀 1. Game on. Former Kings guard Dennis Schröder roughed up Nique Clifford on his first possession. Clifford responded by swatting Schröder's next shot and then hitting a 3 on the vet. Clifford finished with a career-high 30 points and chipped in 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

🏀 2. Let the Daeqwon Plowden era begin. With both Keegan Murray and De'Andre Hunter out of commission, Plowden picked up his first career start. The 27-year-old two-way player made an instant impact, posting 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with 5 rebounds. 

🏀 3. Quality game. Russell Westbrook is part of the veteran group that is taking a bit of a backseat down the stretch. He started and was ready to battle his former teammate James Harden. Westbrook posted 21 points on 5-of-7 from three with 8 assists and 5 rebounds. 

🏀 4. A little of everything. Dylan Cardwell is making his name with defense and rebounding, but he found a way to stuff the stat sheet a bit in this one. The rookie big scored 12 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and blocked a shot.

🏀 5. Silky smooth around the rim. Maxime Raynaud struggled to slow Jarrett Allen, but he did a very nice job on the offensive end. He has a calmness to his game when he gets in the key and he always seems to know where he is on the court. Raynaud scored 14 points and added 7 boards.

🏀 6. Finding his way. Devin Carter has spent most of his first two seasons in the league sitting on the bench. It's hard to judge when he makes mistakes and you can see him hustling on every play. Carter scored 18 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.  

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