The Sacramento Kings have endured their fair share of injuries to the players on their front line, but they might be getting Richaun Holmes back, who was the team’s early season MVP.
Holmes has missed the last 23 games with a shoulder injury after playing his way in to the Kings starting lineup and becoming arguably their most consistent and important piece for the better part of the first half of the season. Before he got hurt, Holmes was in the top-10 in the NBA in field goal percentage and offensive efficiency.
His absence, combined with that of Marvin Bagley‘s, has created quite a hole in the Sacramento front court rotation. Harry Giles, who was almost an afterthought through the first two months, has been thrust in to a starting role. Alex Len, who just arrived less than a month ago, is already playing a big part in clogging up the middle of a Kings defense who needed a big body back there badly.
But good news may be on the horizon as it pertains to the health of Holmes. After rumors that the Kings were contemplating shutting him down for the rest of the season, it seems as though Holmes is getting healthier, and his return to the practice floor could be coming this week.
Are reinforcements on the way?
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 1, 2020
Richaun Holmes is making progress and could return to Kings practice this week after a 22-game absence 🙌 (via @James_HamNBCS) https://t.co/fQvD8GRAtr pic.twitter.com/3wWWzlTCDo
The Kings will obviously welcome Holmes back with open arms no matter when he returns to the lineup. He made a huge transformation to start the year, especially on the offensive end, where he has actually become a reliable scoring option with his athleticism and patented push-shot floater.
There will undoubtedly be rotation changes and minute shifting upon the return of the team’s starting center. But it will all be for the best as the Sacramento Kings need all the firepower that they can get if they hope to make their playoff dreams a reality.