How Domantas Sabonis' Devastating Injury News Impacts Kings' Outlook

The Kings have had the hardest schedule in the NBA to start the season, and just when it is starting to lighten up, they lose their All-NBA big man. Keegan and Domas have yet to play a minute together this season, and now Sacramento will have to wait even longer to see their frontcourt at full strength. 

Murray and Sabonis played 1,728 minutes together last season as the third-most-used two-man lineup by the Kings and now will be forced to reintegrate Murray with a new center. Drew Eubanks will likely start with Sabonis out, but this will take a collective effort to fill in for one of, if not the most important player, for Sacramento. 

How Does This Shake Up the Rotation?

The only saving grace with Sabonis going out for an extended period is that it will give more opportunity to rookie Maxime Raynaud. Raynaud was great last night in Oklahoma City and seems to be adjusting to the speed of the game the more he plays. 

Sabonis and Eubanks have had the majority of the minutes at the five, and Max hasn’t seen his number called a ton with both healthy. Raynaud should get a bigger chance to show that he belongs in the rotation on a regular basis in Sabonis’ absence. If last night was any indication, this may be a silver lining for Sacramento. 

Another rotational positive is that Murray will be able to slot in next to Eubanks, Raynaud, or even Achiuwa at times with his skill set. At least this saves Doug Christie the headache of trying to integrate a non-shooter next to Eubanks. I expect to see a lot of Eubanks and Murray, as well as a good amount of Achiuwa and Murray, against smaller lineups. 

The other fun part is that playing Raynaud and Murray together unlocks a five-out lineup that the Kings haven’t really been able to play yet. Raynaud hasn’t gotten it going from three yet, but he’s a willing shooter and can pull defenders to him on the perimeter. Even though losing Domas is huge, his absence does give the Kings the liberty to try some new things. 

How Can the Kings Make Up For His Production?

There’s no point in beating around the bush; Sabonis has not had the greatest start to the season. For his shot diet, he isn’t shooting the ball well, and 3.7 assists per game would be his lowest in a season since his third year in the league. 

Given that, Sabonis is still one of the best rebounders in the league and does a lot of little things that are hard to replicate. Domas is fourth in the NBA in rebounds, but the Kings are one of the worst rebounding teams in the association, with just four teams behind them. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but this is also an area where Murray makes a difference. Murray averaged close to seven rebounds per game last season and is probably better on the glass than Achiuwa, who has been starting in his place. 

The team will also lean on Russell Westbrook, who is second on the team with seven per game, and will be looking to get a better effort from Eubanks, who is averaging just 2.8. 

Another area where Sabonis will be sorely missed is as a screener. Domas is consistently near the top of the league in screen assists and makes life a lot easier for Sacramento’s guards. LaVine and Sabonis haven’t seemed to completely click yet, but his ability to run zoom-action with shooters like LaVine has been a big part of Sacramento’s offense for a few years now. 

Not only does he set great screens, but his ability to take the ball when the chaser blows up dribble handoffs adds another wrinkle to the offense that makes it less predictable. Christie may look to change things up a bit on offense with Eubanks and Achiuwa better off in a traditional pick and roll vs. a dribble handoff. 

Losing arguably your best player for a long period is never great for an NBA team, and the Kings are already in a tough spot at 3-12. As positive as I was about Eubanks, Achiuwa, and Raynaud filling in, it will be hard to win games with that center rotation. 

Even with his struggles, Sabonis is still a walking double-double who is averaging 17 points a game on a team that has lost seven straight by ten or more. While I’m looking forward to seeing Murray back and more of Raynaud, I’m not hopeful for a lot of wins in Sabonis’ absence.