The Sacramento Kings are dealing with their fair share of injuries of late. It’s a similar reality far too many other teams around the league are suffering from. De’Aaron Fox has had to carry the team over their last two games. However, good news appears to be on the horizon as the Kings injured stars could return as early as Friday.
Kings Injured Stars Update A Welcome Sign in Sacramento
Kings Injured Stars DeRozan, Sabonis, and Monk Close to Returning
All three stars—Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and Malik Monk—have collectively missed Sacramento’s last two games. Sabonis and DeRozan have missed the previous two and three games, respectively, because of lower back tightness. Monk has been on ice since November 10 with a right ankle sprain. While the games missed for the Kings don’t necessarily equal the games missed for, say, New Orleans, who is missing the entirety of their team minus Brandon Ingram, Sacramento missing three key players for even just a week’s time has played a role in a few games coming out on the losing side.
Good news appears to be just around the corner for the Kings, though. Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports that DeRozan, Sabonis, and Monk are all nearing their returns and have been cleared for individual on-court workouts. What bodes well for Sacramento here is that they don’t play again until Friday, giving all three players extra time to heal. The Kings jump back into their NBA Cup string of games as they travel to Los Angeles to play the Clippers. The Kings are 0-1 in NBA Cup games so far, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves last Friday despite a 60-point effort from Fox.
Injuries Are Not Affordable Right Now
At 8-7 in the West, the Kings dropped to 10th in the conference; they were 9th. Their loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night shifted things. This is likely not where the Kings envisioned themselves 15 games into the season after acquiring DeRozan over the summer. The Kings have played a general brand of inconsistent basketball since day one. However, if you want to draw out a positive, the West is currently logjammed with teams in the middle, also dealing with injuries to significant players. The Memphis Grizzlies are without Ja Morant, the Phoenix Suns are missing Kevin Durantand Bradley Beal, Nikola Jokic has missed Denver’s last two games, and, of course, the shockingly, snake-bitten Pelicans, who have been ravaged since preseason.
Teams are struggling across the league with injuries and generally poor basketball play. Suppose the Kings can get their main core pieces back this week. An opportunity to string some wins together and get back into the pack would be available to them. Only a few games back from the fourth seed, they’re tied with three other teams with eight wins. It’s early on in the season, which is another aid for the Kings; they have time to gain ground. However, prolonged injuries will only stifle their winning chances. The longer players like DeRozan, Sabonis, and Monk remain sidelined, the deeper Sacramento could fall. If even at least two of them can return against the Clippers, the Kings are already better off.
