The Sacramento Kings got bit by the injury bug early as their starting forward Marvin Bagley III is ruled out for 4-6 weeks.
Yesterday’s season opener could not have gone worse for the Sacramento Kings. They played against a Phoenix Suns team who many thought the Kings would be able to beat easily, but instead, they got their butts kicked in embarrassing fashion.
Many bad events happened in the game. The Kings turned the ball over left and right, their defense remains inept, and their players got banged up late in the game. Fortunately, the guys who got hurt, De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, look fine at the moment. But as we know now, one other player got hurt and is now ruled out for 4-6 weeks. That guy is Marvin Bagley III who is reported to have a fracture in his thumb.
What Does This Mean For The Kings?
I guess the NBA Gods thought that the loss was not enough. Losing Bagley for the next month or so is a demoralizing blow for the Kings. Not only is he their starting forward, but one of the team’s best one-on-one scorers which will make it hard for the purple and white to replace.
So with Bagley out for the beginning stages of the season, how do the Kings adjust to life without him? Right now, the current bigs on the team are Nemanja Bjelica, Dewayne Dedmon, Wenyen Gabriel, and Richaun Holmes.
I think Dedmon remains the starting center for the Kings and Bjelica takes Bagely’s spot while he recovers. But as the game goes on, Luke Walton has to be creative. I think Walton will use a few combinations depending on how the chemistry is between his players and the matchups they face.
At the five, Dedmon and Holmes are pretty much the 1-2 punch at the moment. And when Harry Giles is healthy enough to play, he can play center too. At the four, however, the Kings will need to get some minutes from Harrison Barnes. When it is time for Bjelica to rest, Sacramento will be forced to play small ball at times which will have Barnes playing four. But based on Barnes’ skillset, he is capable of doing a solid job when getting those minutes.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Kings are put in a tight spot early with Bagely being injured, but this team has the depth to endure the blow. Not only do the Kings have depth in terms of each position, but also regarding the versatility that their players have as well.
The Kings play the Portland Trail Blazers this Friday for their home opener. We will see then how the team reacts for the first time with Bagley sidelined.