Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk suffered a sprained MCL in Friday's 107-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic barrelled into Monk as he drove to the basket in the first half, resulting in Monk leaving the court to be evaluated and not returning for the rest of the game.
INJURY UPDATE: Malik Monk (knee) is OUT for the remainder of the game #NBA #MFFL #LightTheBeam
— CourtSideHeat (@courtsideheat) March 30, 2024
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The following day, the Kings announced that Monk suffered a sprained MCL on that play and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. The loss of Monk's significantly weakens the Kings’ backcourt. Sacramento is already without guard Kevin Huerter, who will likely miss the rest of the season with a left shoulder injury.
With the loss of Monk, who was in contention for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 15.4 PPG and 5.1 assists, Sacramento will have to rely heavily on guard De’Aaron Fox to lead them through the play-in tournament. Fox also averages a career-high 26.5 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.5 rebounds this season.
The race for the play-in tournament is underway in the West, with Sacramento holding the No. 8 seed. The No. 11 seed Houston Rockets are only six games back from the No. 6 seed Dallas Mavericks. The No. 6 Mavericks, No. 7 Suns, No. 8 Kings, No. 9 Lakers, No. 10 Warriors, and No. 11 Rockets are all within six games or less of each other and are fighting for a chance in the postseason.
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