AP Photo

So let’s review: The Sacramento Kings flew cross-country Saturday to play the Charlotte Bobcats. That Kings team had won 20 of 63 games and was long ago out of the playoff race.

Oh, yeah: And these Kings are so bad defensively, they hadn’t held an opponent under 93 points in 38 games.

All that was negated by the Bobcats’ ineptitude. They fell behind, at home, by as much as 16 points in the first quarter and 35 before this game’s conclusion. If the NBA had a mercy rule, this one would have ended long before the final 114-88 result.

The Bobcats need one more victory to avoid the worst winning percentage in NBA history. This looked quite winnable. And yet they never led, falling behind 14-4 in the first six minutes.