Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk has gotten off to a solid start in his third season with the club, but he now has a new issue to deal with. The veteran will miss Monday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs due to an ankle injury he suffered against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
The ailment is still being evaluated, via senior NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Monk got hurt while getting around a screen against the Suns, via The Sacramento Bee's Jason Anderson.
“The Kings lost Monk when he went down with an injury early in the second quarter. Monk appeared to have rolled his right ankle when he stepped on Mason Plumlee’s foot while trying to get around a screen,” Anderson reported. “After being helped to his feet, Monk hobbled off the floor and headed straight to the locker room with members of the team’s medical staff. A short time later, the Kings announced Monk would not return.”
Monk is averaging 12.6 points on 44.2% shooting with three rebounds and 2.8 assists across 25 minutes per game this season. Will Sacramento handle San Antonio without him?
Kings still outmatch Spurs without Malik Monk
While Sacramento will miss Monk, San Antonio is also without Jeremy Sochan, who's averaging 15.4 points on 51.2% shooting with 7.7 rebounds and three rebounds. Third-year guard Malaki Branham, who's averaging 10 points on 52.5% shooting, is also a game-time decision.
As a result, the Spurs will heavily rely on star big man Victor Wembanyama, as they have no other major scoring threats on the roster. The Kings have all of their main players available, and their “big three” of DeMar DeRozan (25.2 PPG), De'Aaron Fox (24.2 PPG), and Damontas Sabonis (20.5 PPG) are all in good form. Keegan Murray (14.4 PPG) and Kevin Huerter (11.3 PPG) have been effective role players as well.
While it's too early to analyze standing, Sacramento is off to a solid start at 6-4, just two games behind the top Western Conference teams.
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