Willie Cauley-Stein injures back against the Milwaukee Bucks
By Tyler Watts
Willie Cauley-Stein moved back into the Sacramento Kings starting five on Dec. 2 against the Bucks only to injure his back early in the game. Read on for more details about the injury.
The Sacramento Kings entered the Dec. 2 game against the Milwaukee Bucks in a fantastic place. They kicked off their four-game road trip with a victory in Chicago on Friday evening. The Kings also decided to start Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos on Saturday. It was unclear if that move was a matchup play after being destroyed by the Buck on Tuesday in Sacramento or something that was going to be a fixture going forward. It appeared like a good night for Sacramento fans, but it unraveled quickly.
The Kings lost the game 109-104 after trailing by double digits for large portions of the contest, but the worst news came in the second quarter. Below is a highlight video from the game in case you missed the action.
WCS injured
The horrible news was Cauley-Stein sustained a back injury after playing just nine minutes tonight. He did not return to the court. Kings’ sideline reporter Kayte Christensen tweeted the following immediately after the injury.
Willie Cauley-Stein came down awkwardly on a layup, could barely run back down the court. Appears to be his back. He is headed back to the locker room. Kings down 55-42 2:55 left in first half. Will report his status as soon as I get it.
— Kayte Christensen (@kayte_c) December 3, 2017
It is uncertain as of this writing how long WCS will be out, but the Kings will miss him for even the shortest amount of time. It is unfortunate because Trill had been playing well lately and finally producing fantastic numbers. He was finally meeting the lofty expectations we all had for him this season. Stay tuned for more information on his condition.
Who steps up?
Sacramento’s roster is built to withstand a frontcourt injury. If Cauley-Stein misses a few game expect Zach Randolph, Kosta Koufos, Skal Labissiere to play most of the minutes at the five. The Kings could also recall Georgios Papagiannis from Reno and give him some limited run. I would not expect the production to be the same, but all four players are capable of handling minutes at the five and providing a modicum of success.
Final thoughts
Sacramento not only lost their second game to Milwaukee this week, but Willie Cauley-Stein injured his back in the process. Stay tuned for more information on his injury as it becomes available. Hopefully, he makes a speedy recovery in time for the Kings next game which is Wednesday in Cleveland against LeBron and the Cavaliers.
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