Domantas Sabonis returned to the Sacramento Kings lineup last week after missing six games with a hamstring injury. And now, after suiting up in just two games, Sabonis will be headed back to the mend, this time due to an ankle injury that he sustained during the Kings' 132-122 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Sabonis “will miss at least 10 days with a right ankle sprain”, a huge blow for a Kings team that's still jockeying for position in the West standings.
As Charania noted, the Kings have gone 3-6 thus far this season without Sabonis, and in the next 10 days, Sacramento will have six games. At this point, it looks like the Kings are locked into the ninth spot in the West, and this injury development is going to do them no favors in their quest to make it to the playoffs as a top-six seed.
Sabonis can't seem to find favorable injury luck as of late. On Monday night, he played in just 12 minutes against the Grizzlies, exiting the game in the third quarter after rolling his ankle in a collision with Jaylen Wells. Sabonis has gone through plenty of wear and tear this season, and his lower-body injuries are piling up — never a good sign for someone who relies on physical play as much as he does.
The 28-year-old star center has built a reputation for himself as one of the toughest players in the association; simple injuries don't keep him out. This means that the Kings star suffered a serious enough injury that requires some time off. In his absence, the Kings will have to rely on Jonas Valanciunas once more, their trade deadline acquisition that is coming in handy over the past week or so.
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Charting the Kings' path amid Domantas Sabonis' injury
Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8), center Jonas Valaciunas (17) and forward Jake LaRavia (33) look up after pushing the button to light the beam after a win against the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center.
Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
The next six games for the Kings (coming within that 10-day Domantas Sabonis injury timeline) will be very difficult; while they have very winnable matchups against the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers on the horizon, they will also be squaring off against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Boston Celtics — the three best teams in the association — as well as a Milwaukee Bucks team that's jockeying for playoff positioning.
The Kings will have to dig deep for this stretch as they look to hold the fort amid another extended absence from the team's best player.