It's that time of year to analyze the freshly released schedules and determine which month is the toughest for the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento is opening the season on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers, starting division play early. The NBA changed its home opener from the Golden State Warriors to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Almost every stretch sounds tough for a team projected to win 21.5 games; a quiet offseason with no free-agent signings compounds that issue.
November is a brutal month despite a seven-game home stand.
The Kings are facing 10 games that finished the season with an over .500 record. It includes the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics.
They had a 1-11 record against those squads last season. The lone victory came against the Lakers in their third meeting of the season, 124-112, on Jan. 12.
Malik Monk became the X-factor off the bench with 26 points on 7-for-9 from three-point range. He made catch-and-shoot threes in transition and nailed off-the-dribble shots in the pick-and-roll.
Sacramento won 15 games at home, so there is some hope during this stretch. Fans show out to the Golden 1 Center and support their team loudly, hoping to witness the purple beam pierce the sky after every victory.
February is just as grueling, but most of the games are on the road. Seven of the 11 games are away, including a stretch of four straight and three straight.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks are in the first road trip. The Kings' record against these four is a bit more promising at 4-6.
They tied the series against the Rockets. Dennis Schröder nailed the game-winning three to push the team over Houston in the second matchup, and DeRozan reached another career milestone -- passing 26,000 points -- in the third showdown.
Indiana travels to the Golden 1 Center to break Sacramento's road slate before going on its second trip.
It faces the Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets to end the month. The Kings went 1-7 against those teams, and the lone victory came in the series finale against the Grizzlies on Feb. 23.
Russell Westbrook and Precious Achiuwa combined for 47 points to snap a 16-game losing streak.
Another struggling season may be in the books. The roster hasn't changed much throughout the offseason, only adding rookies Darius Acuff Jr., Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp.
Acuff can develop into the future No. 1 option, but it comes at a poor time. The NBA is enacting a new lottery reform that lessens the odds of winning the No. 1 pick for the three worst teams.
Sacramento's 21.5 win projection places it within that range. These tough stretches could keep it in purgatory longer than expected in a crucial rebuilding era.