Kings guard Malik Monk is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee and is undergoing further testing, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Testing will provide a better idea of a recovery timeline for the guard. Fellow teammate Trey Lyles was ruled out for about two weeks with a sprained MCL while Heat guard Delon Wright missed four to six weeks earlier this season with one.
Monk suffered the injury after Mavericks guard Luka Doncic fell onto him after a drive. According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Charania, Monk was in the locker room in “decent spirits” but was in pain, leaving the arena with a noticeable limp.
This is another blow to an injury-riddled Kings team dealing with the losses of Monk, Lyles, and Kevin Huerter, who was recently ruled out for the season following season-ending shoulder surgery.
“It’s unfortunate,” teammate Harrison Barnes said, per The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson. “Obviously, still trying to figure out the severity of it, but that’s part of the business. I think last year we were extremely healthy and we didn’t have to worry about that. This year, we’ve been a little bit injury-plagued.”
Monk has been one of the league's most productive guards off the bench this season and is the betting odds favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. He’s been averaging career highs of 15.3 points and 5.1 assists this season, shooting 44.3% from the field and 35.0% from three.
Without him, Davion Mitchell and Kessler Edwards saw an increase in minutes. Sasha Vezenkov, who has been out since Feb. 9, is on the verge of returning, according to Slater and Charania, and could factor into the rotation. Chris Duarte is also potentially in line for more minutes.
“Hey, we’ve got to have the next man step up,” Kings coach Mike Brown said, “Nobody’s going to fill Malik’s shoes, so we just have to do it by committee.”
The Kings have now lost back-to-back games to slip into eighth place in the West and back into the Play-In Tournament picture. A win against Dallas on Friday would have kept them in sixth in the standings, but instead, they’re two games behind the Mavericks and are soon scheduled to play the Clippers, Knicks, Celtics and Thunder.
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