‘I feel fresh’: Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic expects to play against Utah Jazz
Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to return from an ankle injury when the Kings open a five-game road trip against the Utah Jazz on Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
Kings coach Luke Walton said Bogdanovic was a full participant in Friday’s practice. Barring any setbacks, Walton believes Bogdanovic will play restricted minutes when the Kings (15-26) start the second half of the season against the Jazz (28-13).
“We’ve got to see how he feels,” Walton said. “This is the most he’s done practice-wise, got up and down, full contact, full practice, so as long as he feels good, we would expect him to play tomorrow. He did a lot today, so there’s always a small chance that he wakes up and something’s hurting, but I would expect him to be ready.”
Bogdanovic said he no longer feels the soreness in his right ankle that caused him to miss the past six games.
“It’s gone now,” Bogdanovic said. “The medical staff did a really good job and they help me recover really fast, and I feel really good right now.”
Bogdanovic has missed a total of 11 games due to various injuries this season. The Kings went 2-9 in those contests.
Bogdanovic missed a game against the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 22 because of left hamstring tightness. He missed a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 4 with a right knee contusion. He missed three games in late December due to right ankle soreness, the same ankle that has bothered him over the past two weeks.
“I did all this treatment to kind of recover a little bit from everything, so I feel kind of fresh right now,” Bogdanovic said.
Bogdanovic is averaging 14.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds. He is shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from 3-point range.
The Kings are 13-15 when Bogdanovic plays this season despite extended injury absences from De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III.
“(Bogdanovic) is a shooter and a playmaker, so he has that ability,” Walton said. “We rely on him to create for others and we rely on his shooting, so he’s one of those guys we feel — he comes off the bench, but he’s almost one of those bench guys who’s like a starter. When he gets out there, we want to run things through him. We want him to kind of lead that group and then, depending on how the game’s going, be out there to finish games. He’s got a history of making big shots and big plays. Everyone’s valuable, but he’s very valuable to our group and the success we’re trying to have.”
Kings upcoming schedule
Jan. 18 at Utah, 6 p.m.
Jan. 20 at Miami, 2 p.m.
Jan. 22 at Detroit, 4 p.m.
Jan. 24 at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Jan. 27 at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
