A dreary season for the Sacramento Kings took another downturn this week as MRI results showed center Domantas Sabonis suffered a partial meniscus tear in his left knee that is expected to sideline him for at least three to four weeks, the team announced Thursday.
“I feel for him, obviously. We need the big fella,” Kings coach Doug Christie said before Thursday’s road game against the Memphis Grizzlies. “But it’s the nature of what we do. And we know that when we sign up. So, unfortunate. Love him and hope that he gets well soon.”
The Kings, losers of seven straight before Thursday, said Sabonis will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, meaning he’s likely to miss a minimum of nine games including Thursday in Memphis. There’s a gap in scheduling between the Dec. 8 game in Indiana and Dec. 18 game at Portland due to the later stages of the league’s in-season tournament, the bracket of which will be determined as teams advance from the group stage to the knock rounds.
Sabonis appeared to suffer the injury in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs. He was already banged up, dealing with a rib contusion that landed him on the injury report dating back to the game Nov. 3 against the Denver Nuggets. Sabonis left the team after Sunday’s game and returned to Sacramento for testing on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old three-time All-Star is averaging 17.2 points per game, his fewest since his third season in 2018-19 when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was also down to 20% shooting from 3-point range on 1.8 attempts per game after hitting 41.7% of his 3s last season.
With Sabonis out, the Kings will turn to veteran center Drew Eubanks and rookie center Maxime Raynaud, the 42nd pick of the NBA Draft in June.
Christie said the focus of the offense will be spacing the court. The Kings offense ranks 25th in efficiency averaging 108.9 points per 100 possessions.
“So understanding where to run, where to roll, how to shape the floor, that’s going to be a work in progress,” Christie said. “Domas is obviously a little further along in that. (I) like the energy that both of them are bringing.”
The news of Sabonis’ injury came the same day forward Keegan Murray returned to the floor after having surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. Murray came off the bench as a reserve.