Kings provide encouraging injury updates on DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis
The Sacramento Kings have been besieged by injuries over the past week, but help is on the way.
The Kings provided a medical update as they prepared to conclude a four-game homestand against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at Golden 1 Center. DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis all appear to be nearing a return after missing recent games due to injuries.
DeRozan, Monk and Sabonis were ruled out for Monday’s game, but all three have been cleared for individual on-court workouts. If all goes well, the Kings could add reinforcements when they visit the Los Angele Clippers in an NBA Cup in-season tournament game Friday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
“Obviously, you want our guys to be healthy, but I’m thinking about tonight before Friday,” Kings coach Mike Brown said before Monday’s game against the Hawks. “Our medical team is going to keep doing what they’re doing, our guys are going to keep doing what they’re doing to get better, and when they come back, it will be great. Otherwise, we’ve got to have next man up tonight, embrace the small things and details, and try to get a win.”
DeRozan missed Friday’s overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Saturday’s win over the Utah Jazz due to lower back tightness. Sabonis missed Saturday’s game after he experienced lower back tightness as well. Monk missed his fifth game Monday after going down with a moderate right ankle sprain in a Nov. 13 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
De’Aaron Fox carried the Kings over the past two games – scoring a franchise-record 60 points against the Timberwolves and 49 against the Jazz – but the return of DeRozan, Monk and Sabonis would give Sacramento a big boost.
DeRozan is the team’s second-leading scorer. He is averaging 22.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 52.6% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 85.9% at the free-throw line.
Sabonis averages 20.2 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He is shooting 64.1% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc and 84.7% at the foul line.
Monk is averaging 12.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He is shooting just 44.2% from the field and 27.9% from long distance but has converted 84.6% of his free-throw attempts.
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 6:16 PM.
