1 week Ago By Andrei De Guzman, NBA Analysis Network
The Sacramento Kings have endured a gut-wrenching blow, they are set to miss the presence of one of their key players at a critical stage of the season. Despite the challenging circumstances that have unfolded this season, from Mike Brown’s coaching dismissal and De’Aaron Fox’s trade exit , the Sacramento Kings fought tooth and nail to remain in contention. But after they finally qualified for the 2025 Play-In Tournament, the Kings’ hopes of an NBA Playoff appearance have taken a huge hit, after it was reported that Malik Monk will be out at a critical time.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN , Monk is set to be sidelined for about two weeks due to a strained left calf, which he sustained last April 7 against the Detroit Pistons. Doug Christie gets honest about Malik Monk’s brutal absence for Sacramento No other Kings personnel has been as shattered about Monk’s absence as Doug Christie. Since he took over on an interim basis as the Kings’ head coach, Christie heavily leaned on Monk’s solid play and contributions, which included a big-time win last January against the Golden State Warriors .
With the Kings set to enter a daunting path ahead for their season survival, Christie is simply devastated that Monk won’t be there to help them. “It’s super unfortunate because we depend on him a lot,” Christie said before the Kings’ 124-116 loss against the Denver Nuggets on April 9. “In many ways, he is the leader of the team, definitely on the emotional side.
A lot of the energy, the things that go on in the locker room, practice. He’s the head of the snake in many ways. “He’ll still be around, obviously, but two weeks is two weeks and we need him.
We need Malik’s energy, his shooting, his athleticism.” Doug Christie on the Kings signing Terence Davis and the loss of Malik Monk to injury. pic.
twitter.com/QlW45frHnY Monk’s production will be hugely missed by Sacramento This season Malik Monk has tried help the team in whatever ways he can, embracing the challenge to be the team’s newest lead guard following Fox’s exit . Monk has appeared in 65 games (45 starts).
He’s been on a roll for his best campaign as a King, tallying career-highs in points (17.2), assists (5.6), and rebounds (3.
8) while shooting 43.9 percent from the field across 31.6 minutes.
With Monk unavailable, the Kings expect a bigger step up from the likes of DeMar DeRozan , Domantas Sabonis , and Zach LaVine, who recently set a historic performance . “The one thing when I think about Malik is you have the ability to play with anybody because he can do so many things,” Christie added. “He has the ability to play in the pick-and-roll and hit the pocket.
He can spray it to the corner. He can knock down the 3. He can knock down the deep 3.
He can play above the rim. He can finish with both hands. He’s got a midrange game.
He knocks down free throws at a high clip. “It’s just his ability to process all that when he’s out there, so he is desperately and deeply going to be missed.” This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.
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