The Sacramento Kings were dealt quite a scare when rookie Marvin Bagley III went down with an apparent knee injury against the Milwaukee Bucks at the end of February.
However, X-rays revealed that Bagley had avoided a serious injury and merely suffered a left knee sprain. He would go on to miss the next five games, but he immediately picked up where he left off when he returned against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
Bagley posted 14 points and six rebounds in just over 19 minutes of play, and he followed that up with a 15-point, four-rebound performance in 20 minutes of run against the Philadelphia 76ers — making five of nine shot attempts in both contests. This is an incredibly encouraging sign for Bagley, who was playing his best basketball before going down with the injury.
Nonetheless, the Kings are continuing to exhibit caution with their top overall pick, as Kings Insider James Ham reported that Sacramento will keep Bagley on a minutes restriction for the next few games:
According to Dave Joerger, Marvin Bagley is still on a minutes restriction for the next few games. Likely to increase from the 19-20 over the last two games.
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) March 17, 2019
Marvin Bagley III also missed two weeks in December after suffering a bone bruise in a game against the Golden State Warriors.
The no.2 overall pick of the 2018 draft was having a solid season heading into 2019, but he really broke out in February. Bagley averaged 17.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and just over one block per game during the month, which included a career-high 32 points against the Suns and a 28-point, 14-rebound display against the Warriors.
However, Sacramento is just 2-6 in their last eight games and are now six games back of the LA Clippers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
It would not be a surprise if the Kings decided to hold to the minutes restriction on Bagley for the rest of the season.
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