Sacramento Kings: Harry Giles exits game due to thigh injury, no concern from coaching staff

Sacramento Kings rookie Harry Giles exited during the second quarter of tonight’s win over the Dallas Mavericks due to a thigh contusion, but isn’t expected to miss time.

During Thursday nights blowout victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Harry Giles exited early after diving for a loose ball and would not return.

Harry Giles was ruled out for the rest of the game after the first half, but after the game Sacramento Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger downplayed the severity of the injury.

"“It’s not structural,” Joerger told KHTK’s Matt George postgame, “What I’m hearing is it’s just a thigh bruise.”"

Harry Giles also took to Twitter to seemingly confirm his status.

Having Giles escape any serious injury is a huge sigh of relief for the organization and Kings fan, especially when you consider Giles’ injury history before coming into the league and the two extended absences from fellow rookie Marvin Bagley, who suffered two knee injuries that forced him to miss multiple games.

Giles has also hit his stride as of late, and while he wasn’t able tonight in just eight minutes of action, he’s been steadily improving since the trade deadline. On the season, Giles have averaged just seven points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists, but over his last 12, Giles’ averages have jumped to 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists and has posted a net rating of plus-5.8 since the start of March.

With the Sacramento Kings almost assuredly out of the playoff race at this (ESPN’s BPI gives them a less than 0.1 percent chance at the playoffs), they might choose to rest Giles for Saturday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, though it’s equally possible he plays so he can get more in-game reps with Marvin Bagley, as they’re the future of this front-court.

Thursday’s win brought the Kings to 35-36 on the season, and while Saturday’s game may not mean much, it could feature a bit of Sacramento Kings history. As was highlighted here, Buddy Hield is likely to break the Kings’ single-season record for made threes in a season as he just needs three more to pass Kings legend Peja Stojakovic.

They won’t make the playoffs, but there’s still plenty to watch for as the season comes to a close and March Madness continues in full-force.