Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Huerter ruled out vs. Washington Wizards due to leg injury
The Kings will be without guard Kevin Huerter due to a right popliteus injury Saturday against the Washington Wizards, a league source confirmed to The Sacramento Bee on Saturday.
Huerter suffered the injury, which was initially described as a hamstring issue, in the first quarter of Thursday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. Huerter underwent an MRI on Friday in Washington, D.C., that revealed no significant structural damage.
Huerter did not participte in Saturday’s morning shootaround. He’s considered day-to-day with no immediate timetable for his return.
Huerter, 24, is having a career year in his first season with the Kings. He’s averaging personal bests in points per game (15.0), 3-point shooting percentage (.408) and 3-pointers made per game (2.8). After a cool-shooting February, Huerter made 57% of his 3s over the first eight games in March while averaging 17.3 points per game.
Without Huerter, head coach Mike Brown has options to fill his spot in the starting lineup.
“TD (Terence Davis) could start. Shoot, we feel like we could start Kessler (Edwards) if we need to. We could start Trey (Lyles),” Brown said after Thursday’s game. “We’re going to bring up Keon (Ellis) probably. I may even throw him out there, so it’s a great time for us to experiment a little bit with different guys in different positions.”
Edwards has elevated himself into a rotation role in recent games, including strong showings Thursday in Brooklyn and March 11 in Phoenix. Edwards has played at least 17 minutes in his last four games.
Ellis is a two-way player who has recently been with the Stockton Kings in the G-League. Lyles was listed as questionable Saturday with a shoulder injury. Center Richaun Holmes is also considered questionable with a non-COVID related illness.
