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The Sacramento Kings have been on a roll of late, but they just received some bad news on the injury front. Amid a three-game win streak, the Kings learned that guard Malik Monk will need more time away from the action to deal with a lower-body issue, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
“Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk will be re-evaluated in two weeks due to a left calf strain, sources tell ESPN,” Charnia said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
As further noted by Charania, the timetable update on Monk likely means that the former Kentucky Wildcats star will not see action for the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA regular season and in the play-in.
With that update, the 27-year-old Monk wraps up his eighth season in the NBA with averages of 17.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds across 65 games while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 51.3 percent from behind the arc.
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Monk most recently suited up for the Kings in last Monday's 127-117 victory on the road over the Detroit Pistons. However, he only played for six minutes off the bench in that contest, as he exited late in the first quarter with a calf injury. Monk had two points on 1-for-3 shooting from the floor with an assist and a turnover when he left the court.
The Kings have already secured a berth in the play-in tournament, as they have a 39-40 record through Tuesday –just a game in front of the Dallas Mavericks, who will be playing the Los Angeles Lakers this Wednesday evening.
While they no longer have a shot at making it to a top-six spot in the Western Conference standings, the Kings still have something to play for. Apart from the desire to finish the regular season with at least an aesthetically better .500 record or better, the Kings surely want to lock up the No. 9 seed to win the homecourt advantage when they play the No. 10 seed in the play-in tournament, which the Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns are also still in play for.
The Kings' last three games will be against the Denver Nuggets this Wednesday night, Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and Suns on Sunday — all at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
