What will Sacramento Kings do while Malik Monk is out with injury? Here’s what they said
Monday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs showed the Kings what they will be missing with Malik Monk sidelined due to injury for the next several games.
The Kings missed Monk’s energy, playmaking ability and the scoring punch he provides off the bench in a 116-96 loss to the Spurs at Front Bank Center in San Antonio. Sacramento’s bench was outscored 37-21 while starters Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray combined for only seven points on 3-of-14 shooting.
“We’re definitely going to have to collectively step up,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “There’s not one guy that can do it. It’s going to be tough also if Kevin and Keegan have a combined seven points, so it’s a collective effort from the guys coming off the bench.”
The Kings will open a four-game homestand when they face the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The team announced Monday that Monk will be reevaluated in two weeks after suffering a moderate right ankle sprain in an overtime win against the Suns on Sunday at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
“I hope he gets better sooner than later, but ... it’s the next man up,” Brown said. “Whoever’s available to play, we’ve just got to make sure we try to contribute the best way we can, and when he gets healthy, he’ll be back.”
The San Antonio game was the first of at least eight Monk will likely miss.
▪ Monday at San Antonio Spurs
▪ Wednesday vs. Phoenix Suns
▪ Friday vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
▪ Saturday vs. Utah Jazz
▪ Nov. 18 vs. Atlanta Hawks
▪ Nov. 22 at Los Angeles Clippers
▪ Nov. 24 vs. Brooklyn Nets
▪ Nov. 25 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Keon Ellis will certainly by one of the players the Kings turn to in the absence of Monk. Ellis was held to three points in 22 minutes while going 1 of 6 from the field against San Antonio, but he is confident in his ability to make the right play while providing quality minutes.
“I think everybody knows what (Monk) brings to the team,” Ellis said. “We just have to step up and kind of replace what he brought to the team, the energy and everything that he brought to the team. … He puts a lot of pressure on the defense, so we’re missing that a little bit from him for sure, but guys just have to step up.”
Brown also pointed to some of the team’s other top reserves, including Jordan McLaughlin, Doug McDermott, Trey Lyles and Alex Len.
“We’re going to keep playing our guys,” Brown said. “Similar to (Sunday) night in Phoenix, Jordan’s going to get an opportunity, Doug’s going to get an opportunity, Trey is going to get an opportunity. We may have to try to (get) A-Len out there. It’s next man up, and wherever we feel the matchups are or the flow of the game is, we’ll play the next body.”
Another factor for the Kings could be the addition of DeMar DeRozan, who came to Sacramento over the summer in a three-team sign-and-trade deal. DeRozan gives the Kings a third All-Star alongside De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis who can score, handle the ball and make plays.
Fox said defense will be a key, too. The Kings are No. 12 in the NBA in defensive rating after ranking 14th in 2023-24 and 24th in 2022-23.
“Obviously, adding someone like DeMar kind of helps if someone does go down, so as a team we have to step up and continue doing what we’re doing defensively,” Fox said.
Monk starred at Kentucky with Fox before entering the NBA as the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He signed with the Kings as a free agent in 2022 and agreed to stay in Sacramento last summer on a new four-year, $78 million contract.
Monk is averaging 13.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his eighth NBA season. He was the runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last season after averaging a career-high 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and a career-best 5.1 assists. Monk missed the last nine games of the regular season and two play-in games after spraining his right MCL in a game against the Dallas Mavericks.
“It’s next man up,” Lyles said. “We’ve played through a lot of injuries last year and guys stepped up, so we have to do the same thing. Malik is a big part of our offense, obviously, and a big part of our team in general, so his absence I think is definitely going to be missed, but he would say the same thing: Next man up. So we’ve just got to continue to play well, and once shots start falling for us, I think a lot of things will open up and offensively we’ll become even better than we already are.”
Fox echoed Brown’s thoughts, saying it will take a collective effort to replace Monk’s energy and production.
“Obviously, he’s someone who creates for himself, creates for others, makes energy plays both offensively and defensively for us, so we’re kind of missing that,” Fox said. “You definitely feel that, so at the end of the day, with an NBA team, if you want to get to where you want to get to and somebody goes out, we have to be able to fill that void quickly. I think multiple guys have to step up. It’s not going to be just one guy’s job.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
