Reinforcements are coming: Bagley to return to Kings after missing 22 games
.jpg "The Sacramento Kings, shown in this photo by Marvin Bagley III, will debut their new red City Edition uniforms when they play the Denver Nuggets in their next home game Nov. 30 at Golden 1 Center. They have white lettering with baby blue and gray trim.")
Forward Marvin Bagley III is expected to play when the Kings (10-13) entertain the Oklahoma City Thunder (11-12) on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. The Kings will list Bagley as probable for the game.
Bagley, the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has missed 22 games since suffering a nondisplaced fracture of his right thumb in a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds in a backup role as a rookie last season.
The Kings are coming off back-to-back wins over the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Bagley was listed as questionable going into those two contests, but he has yet to suit up since being cleared to return last week.
Kings coach Luke Walton has not revealed how he plans to use Bagley upon his return. Bagley started the season opener against the Suns, but Nemanja Bjelica and Richaun Holmes have played well together in his absence and Dewayne Dedmon has fallen out of the rotation.
Holmes is averaging 12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, patrolling the paint for a much-improved defense. Bjelica is averaging 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He leads the team in 3-point shooting at 42.6 percent and buried a 33-footer to beat the Rockets on Monday.
Bjelica and Holmes started the past 19 games together after Bagley was hurt and Dedmon went to the bench. The Kings went 10-9 in those games despite the absences of Bagley and point guard De’Aaron Fox, who has missed the past 14 games with a grade-3 ankle sprain.
Kings upcoming schedule
Dec. 11 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 7 p.m.
Dec. 13 vs. New York Knicks, 7 p.m.
Dec. 15 at Golden State Warriors, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Charlotte Hornets, 4 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Indiana Pacers, 4 p.m.
Injury report
Thunder: OUT — Hamidou Diallo (elbow), Terrance Ferguson (hip), Andre Roberson (knee).
Kings: PROBABLE — Marvin Bagley III (thumb), Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee), Cory Joseph (back). OUT — De’Aaron Fox (ankle).
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 4:33 PM.
