Kings forward Marvin Bagley III questionable due to injury; Pelicans’ Lonzo Ball ruled out
Kings forward Marvin Bagley III might be sidelined due to injury when the team concludes a seven-game homestand against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
Bagley was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report Saturday due to left wrist soreness. Center Hassan Whiteside is also questionable for the Kings (5-8) because of left hip soreness. Point guard Lonzo Ball has been ruled out for the Pelicans (4-7) due to bilateral knee tendinopathy.
Bagley posted 20 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes in Friday’s 138-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made 8 of 12 field-goal attempts and 2 of 4 from 3-point range, improving to 8 of 18 (.444) from beyond the arc over the past six games.
Bagley, who came out of Duke as the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, missed most of the 2019-20 season due to injuries, but he has been healthy since recovering from COVID-19 at the start of training camp. He started each of the team’s first 13 games, averaging 12.8 points and 7.6 rebounds. Bagley has struggled defensively but showed signs of fundamental growth in recent games, according to coach Luke Walton.
Ball, the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft out of UCLA, is averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds for the Pelicans. He is shooting just 39.5% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range.
Whiteside is averaging 6.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 12.7 minutes per game for the Kings. The 7-foot center has been used sparingly after averaging 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks for the Portland Trail Blazers last season.
