Star ahead/heart Domantas Sabonis has been recognized with a Grade 1 left hamstring pressure after present process an MRI and can miss at the very least one week, the Kings introduced late on Sunday evening, via ABC10’s Matt George.
Sabonis suffered the injury on Saturday in a win over Houston. Simply over one minute into the sport, the massive man grabbed his left hamstring whereas operating up the court docket. Head coach Doug Christie instantly referred to as timeout, and Sabonis headed to the locker room to get the damage examined, with the Kings subsequently saying that he wouldn’t return.
It’s clearly not excellent news for the Kings, who’re battling for a playoff spot, that they’ll be with out their most precious participant for at the very least the subsequent week, however the prognosis might have been worse — a Grade 1 pressure is taken into account the mildest type and should not end in an prolonged absence for Sabonis.
Sabonis has averaged 19.5 factors, a league-leading 14.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per recreation in 56 contests this season. He has a capturing line of .596/.432/.747 and the Kings have had a +4.0 web score when he’s on the court docket, in comparison with a -3.7 mark when he sits.
With Sabonis unavailable for many of Saturday’s recreation, backup heart Jonas Valanciunas logged practically half-hour after averaging simply 14.3 MPG in his first eight appearances as a King.
Valanciunas completed the sport with 15 factors, 14 rebounds, 4 steals and three blocks, enjoying a key position in serving to Sacramento to safe the win. He’ll presumably proceed to see elevated minutes whereas his fellow Lithuanian recovers. Sacramento is scheduled to play in Dallas on Monday, in Denver on Wednesday, at house vs. San Antonio on Friday and in L.A. towards the Clippers on Sunday.
The Kings are at the moment 31-28, which places them ninth within the Western Convention standings, but it surely’s a really tight race. They’re share factors forward of the 32-29 Mavericks at No. 10 and are only a half-game behind the Clippers (32-28), Warriors (32-28), and Timberwolves (33-29), who holds the sixth, seventh, and eighth seeds, respectively.
