The Sacramento Kings took a major hit on Saturday with the news that Malik Monk will miss 4-6 weeks with a sprained MCL, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi.
With nine games to play, the Kings are two games back of the No. 6 Mavericks for the Western Conference’s fifinal guaranteed playoff spot, which means there’s a good chance they’ll be in the Play-In Tournament, which begins April 16.
Monk would obviously be out for the Play-In Tournament, and with the earliest he can reportedly return being May 1, he’s likely out for the first round of the playoff as well, if the Kings make it that far.
In other words, unless the Kings make at least the second round, Monk is done for the year, and even then, if he’s toward the latter end of the recovery timeline he could still be out.
This is a massive blow for the Kings. Monk, who is a leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate (yes, he will be eligible for this award with 72 games played), is an electric scorer off the bench. He averages 15 points and five assists and is the Kings’ second-most deadly shot creator next to De’Aaron Fox.
One could argue that Monk is actually the best one-on-one creator. It’s not just his scoring. Monk leads the entire league in total assists on drives. Between the threat of his pull-up 3s and his downhill attacks, he can become impossible to defend when he has it going.
Monk brings a palpable energy to the Kings, too. He’s one of those flammable scorers. His buckets tend to ignite the whole team, and without him, getting through a Play-In Tournament game and a round of what will be a nasty first-round matchup no matter who it’s against will be a tall order.
As it stands, entering play on Sunday, the Kings would play at Phoenix in the first Play-In Tournament game, If they were to win that game, they would go in as the No. 7 seed and match up with No. 2 OKC in the first round. A loss to Phoenix and then a win over the winner of the Warriors-Lakers Play-In Tournament game would mean, at present, the No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup with the Timberwolves, who boast the best defense in the league.
No matter how it plays out, this is a brutal blow for Sacramento as it aims secure a guaranteed playoff berth over this final stretch.
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