Sacramento Kings lose Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter to injury

The Sacramento Kings have been dealt a significant blow with the NBA playoffs around the corner.

After being virtually healthy all of last season, the Kings were unfortunately bit by the injury bug this year, as they will likely be without key guards Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter due to injuries, according to separate reports by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

A Sixth-Man-of-the-Year candidate and a dynamic scorer off the bench for the Kings, Monk is feared to have a sprained MCL in his right knee and will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury. At the moment, there's no timetable for his return.

The 6-foot-3 Monk has been vital for Sacramento, providing a huge scoring boost off the bench, averaging 15.4 points and 5.4 assists per game.

Huerter, the Kings’ starting shooting guard, will reportedly undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Kings coach Mike Brown wouldn't rule out Huerter for the entirety of the playoffs, but he will miss the rest of the regular season. Huerter may be able to return if the Kings make a deep playoff run.

The 6-foot-7 Huerter is essential for a lot of the Kings’ offensive actions, oftentimes a recipient of dribble handoff actions from star center Domantas Sabonis and providing spacing and shooting for Sacramento’s offense.

Expected to step up in Monk and Huerter’s absences is Keon Ellis, a 3-and-D guard who's capable of hitting the open three while playing suffocating defense against opposing guards. 

Backup point guard Davion Mitchell would likely see his minutes increase as well, and he might see the floor with star point guard De'Aaron Fox as the Kings fill in the holes left by Monk and Huerter.

Sacramento is in the midst of a tight Western Conference playoff race. They are currently 42-31, which is the eighth-best record in the West. They sit just four games behind the fourth-seed Los Angeles Clippers, while only having a four-game lead over the 11th-place Houston Rockets.