“Nearly a decade into his NBA career, Malik Monk has become himself,” wrote ‘The Broken News’ reporter Quinn Everts back in January. In the few weeks since the player was moved up to a starter role in early December, reports revealed that the Sacramento Kings improved offensively, ranking first in scoring and offensive rating at one point after a five-game period. The player himself improved on an individual level, going from averaging 16.5 points in December 2024 to 22.5 points in January. The team helped him, and he helped the team. Therefore, he is the one player the Sacramento Kings essentially need as they go up against the San Antonio Spurs in the next couple of hours. Unfortunately, having Monk for the game is a wish that won’t be fulfilled for the squad.
The Sacramento Kings recently provided an official injury update on Malik Monk. According to it, the point guard is set to be ‘OUT’ for the upcoming matchup against the Spurs. The update comes just as the player’s injury was officially diagnosed as a right toe sprain. On the bright side, Monk will hold a ‘Day-To-Day’ status after the Spurs game.
MRI imaging confirms Malik Monk has a right toe sprain and will miss tomorrow’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. He’ll be listed as day-to-day going forward.
No Malik and no Domantas Sabonis for De’Aaron Fox’s return to Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/M4GYrUs2Xh
— Tristi Rodriguez (@tristi_r14) March 7, 2025
The recent Kings-Mavericks game proved to be one of the best recent games for Malik Monk. During his 23:17 minutes on the court, he had scored 13 points, 1 rebound, and 8 assists with 0 turnovers. This allowed his plus/minus rating to go up to +22. Unfortunately, the point guard sustained his toe injury in the same game, during the 2nd quarter. Due to it, Monk had to exit early and also miss the next game against the Denver Nuggets. Now, the player will miss a 2nd consecutive game.
Malik Monk’s continued absence is a major blow to the Sacramento Kings. After all, the team will now go into the game without two of its starters. Domantas Sabonis, who had earlier sustained a Grade 1 Left Hamstring strain, is set to miss his 3rd consecutive game. The injury occurred within 90 seconds of the matchup against the Houston Rockets. The player ran down the court and into the paint before grabbing the back of his left leg. He grimaced and reportedly asked Kings interim coach Doug Christie for a sub. Sabonis limped off the court and did not return.
NBC Sports was able to interview Stanford Medicine’s Dr. Geoffrey Abrams about Sabonis’s injury. He revealed that “Grade 1 is really the lowest end of the grading scale, so it goes all the way up to a 3 … Typically for grade 1s like this, we classify it as a minor — maybe a moderate — but more minor strain of the hamstring, and typical time loss for these is around a couple few weeks on average”. This means that even after Sabonis is reevaluated next week, he may not be returning to the court anytime soon.
As for the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama being indefinitely ‘OUT’ leaves them in a bit of a spot. It doesn’t help that Charles Bassey is also listed ‘OUT’ for the upcoming game. It will be the sixth consecutive contest he misses. The player continues to recover from the acute-on-chronic bone bruise in his left knee. Riley Minix was declared ‘OUT’ from the season’s remaining games back in mid-January. He had undergone season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Keeping the injuries aside, the upcoming matchup will be a memorable one. After all, it marks the first time De’Aaron Fox will be facing his former team after being traded back in early February.
In light of this update, both teams will have to make adjustments to their starting lineups.
What will the starting lineup and depth chart for the Kings-Spurs game look like?
The starting lineup for the Sacramento Kings will look something like this:
| POSITION | STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH |
| PG | Malik Monk (OUT) | Markelle Fultz | Keon Ellis | Devin Carter | |
| SG | Zach LaVine | Keon Ellis | Malik Monk (OUT) | Devin Carter | Mason Jones |
| SF | DeMar DeRozan | Jake LaRavia | Doug McDermott | Zach LaVine | Keegan Murray |
| PF | Keegan Murray | Trey Lyles | Jake LaRavia | Issac Jones | Doug McDermott |
| C | Domantas Sabonis (OUT) | Jonas Valanciunas | Trey Lyles | Skal Labissiere | Issac Jones |
Similarly, given the updates for the San Antonio Spurs, their starting lineup will look like this:
| POSITION | STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH |
| PG | Chris Paul | Stephon Castle | De’Aaron Fox | Blake Wesley | Jordan McLaughlin |
| SG | De’Aaron Fox | Julian Champagnie | Stephon Castle | Devin Vassell | Malaki Branham |
| SF | Devin Vassell | Keldon Johnson | Julian Champagnie | Harrison Barnes | Malaki Branham |
| PF | Harrison Barnes | Jeremy Sochan | Sandro Mamukelashvili | Keldon Johnson | Julian Champagnie |
| C | Bismack Biyombo | Charles Bassey (OUT) | Jeremy Sochan | Sandro Mamukelashvili | Victor Wembanyama |
The Sacramento Kings or the San Antonio Spurs? Who will you be rooting for? Let us know in the comments.
The post Kings Announce Troubling Malik Monk Update Before Spurs Clash Amid Concerns Over Domantas Sabonis Increases appeared first on EssentiallySports.
