Kings coach Luke Walton has good news and bad news about Tyrese Haliburton’s knee injury
.jpg "Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) loses control of the dribble and falls to the ground after suffering an unknown lower leg injury in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Sunday, May 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)")
Kings coach Luke Walton provided good news and bad news Tuesday regarding rookie Tyrese Haliburton’s knee injury, but there was still no news on his MRI results.
The good news is the Kings seem reasonably sure Haliburton avoided catastrophic injury when he went down against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. The bad news is Haliburton is out against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and won’t return in the immediate future with only seven more games remaining in the season.
“We’re very optimistic still with Tyrese and we’re working with multiple professionals as far as getting all the opinions together, and we have a whole group of our medical staff just making sure that all the information they’re giving out is correct,” Walton said. “But we are optimistic and when they get that information, they will share it with you guys.”
Haliburton remained with the team and was seen on the bench during Tuesday’s game, up on his feet cheering for teammates and walking without the use of crutches.
When asked if the team had ruled out any tears or structural damage, Walton said: “That will all be out there in the medical update. I’ll just continue to say we are optimistic about it.”
Haliburton was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday morning after injuring his left knee in the third quarter of Sunday’s 112-99 victory over the Mavericks. The Kings ruled Haliburton out against the Thunder due to an unspecified knee injury on Monday’s injury report, but they provided nothing further until Walton held his pregame news conference Tuesday.
“They’re working on it, so it’s not like we’re trying not to get the information out there,” Walton said. “We’re not hiding anything, but whenever that information all comes in and the powers that be communicate it out, that information will be sent out to you and that will happen when it happens. I can’t give you an exact time.”
Delon Wright will start at point guard in the absence of Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox, who has been under NBA health and safety protocols for 11 days. Walton indicated Fox will return no sooner than Friday, when the Kings return to Sacramento to face the San Antonio Spurs.
“There’s no update other than he’s still in the health and safety protocol and he’s clearly not with us on this trip,” Walton said. “We have tonight’s game and tomorrow night’s game (against the Indiana Pacers) then we’ll get back home and see where he’s at.”
When asked if he was preparing for the possibility of starting Wright for the remainder of the season, Walton said: “For the immediate future, for sure. He’s QB1 right now so we’ll prep him accordingly and we’ll see where we are as we move forward in these final eight games.”
The Kings have won three of their last four games despite being shorthanded, including two wins over the Mavericks and one over the Los Angeles Lakers. Fox has missed six games since entering health and safety protocols April 23. Harrison Barnes has missed four games with left adductor tightness and Chimezie Metu has missed two games with lower back soreness after taking a scary fall in Friday’s 110-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
With less than two weeks remaining in the season, Haliburton’s injury could bring an end to a sensational rookie season for the 21-year-old guard from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The Kings selected Haliburton out of Iowa State with the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He quickly acclimated himself to the NBA game, winning Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors for December/January and February to establish himself as an early leader in the Rookie of the Year race.
Haliburton has appeared in 58 games, averaging 13.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 47.2% from the field andfox 40.9% from 3-point range. Haliburton averaged 17.0 points and 8.2 assists as the team’s starting point guard over the past five games with Fox out of the lineup.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 5:03 PM.
