The Sacramento Kings are struggling to keep a full-strength roster together as a lot of the key players are injured. Fortunately, it seems like Marvin Bagley III will be available sooner rather than later for Luke Walton.
The former Los Angeles Lakers head coach revealed to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee that he expects Bagley to be fully prepared to play against the Orlando Magic on Monday. This should help alleviate the lack of talent that has affected the Kings due to the injury bug.
Kings coach Luke Walton says he expects Marvin Bagley III to be ready for Monday's game against the Orlando Magic.
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) January 11, 2020
Bagley is a huge piece of the Kings' core headlined by De'Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield. While he is expected to be eased back to the rotation after missing the team's last eight games, his presence alone should give the team a massive boost.
In the nine games he has played in this season, Bagley is averaging 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line. It should be noted that the 20-year-old big man missed 22 straight games early this 2019-20 campaign due to a fractured right thumb.
Walton, however, has consistently shown his support to Bagley and believes he can perform on all aspects of the game if given the opportunity. In fact, he compared him to Giannis Antetokounmpo in December.
“Obviously, I’m capable of playing more than one position. I can play every position.,” Bagley said, via SLAM Online. “I’m a player. I don’t have a position. I’m a positionless basketball player. Whatever the team needs, whether I’m playing the 5, the 4, the 3 – whatever they need – I’m going to adjust to it, learn it and do it.”
Marvin Bagley III is certainly having a worse season than his rookie year, but he should be able to help the Kings in a lot of ways once he returns.
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