Kings center Richaun Holmes injures shoulder in win over Warriors; status uncertain
Kings center Richaun Holmes left Monday’s win over the Golden State Warriors with a shoulder injury, leaving his status for Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns uncertain.
Holmes left with 7:25 to play in the third quarter during Sacramento’s 111-98 victory over Warriors at Golden 1 Center. Holmes said he didn’t know how exactly how the injury occurred.
“I really can’t say,” Holmes said. “I just remember catching the ball and I went to go up and I just felt this pain in my shoulder and it got worse. I really can’t tell you what happened, but I’ll be all right.”
Holmes said he was sore after the game, but he didn’t believe the injury was serious. Kings coach Luke Walton said Holmes would travel with the team to Phoenix, but he didn’t know if he would be able to play.
Holmes is averaging career highs of 13.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in a breakout season for the Kings, who signed him to a two-year, $10 million contract in July. Holmes has emerged as a fan favorite while helping to carry the team through multiple injuries to De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Holmes was expected to compete for backup minutes, but he replaced Dewayne Dedmon in the starting lineup after four games. Dedmon, who signed a three-year, $40 million contract in July, has fallen out of the rotation and recently requested a trade. He was listed as inactive for each of the last three games and has logged only seven minutes since Dec. 6.
Walton was asked if Dedmon would get an opportunity to play if Holmes is out for any period of time. Another option is Harry Giles III.
“(Holmes) is going to come with us to Phoenix and we’ll see,” Walton said. “Hopefully he can play. If not, then we’ve got to sit down as a staff and see where we’re at and what direction we want to go.”
Kings upcoming schedule
Jan. 7 at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
Jan. 10 vs. Milwaukee, 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15 vs. Dallas Mavericks
Jan. 18 at Utah, 6 p.m.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 11:49 PM.
