On Sunday, the Sacramento Kings beat the Phoenix Suns in an impressive comeback in overtime. But in beating the Suns, the Kings also lost.
In the early portion of the second quarter, Malik Monk – the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year (6MOY) runner-up, went to the deck with what we later learned would be a right ankle injury. Monk did not return to the game.
On Monday, we got a firmer timeline for Monk's recovery, and it is longer than we'd originally hoped for.
Kings guard Malik Monk suffered a moderate right ankle sprain and will be sidelined two weeks until he’s reevaluated.
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) November 11, 2024
Malik Monk Injury Update
As the tweet above suggests, Monk has a moderate ankle sprain that will be re-evaulated in two weeks. Remember, whenever you hear a player is being re-evaulated in X amount of weeks, that doesn't mean that they will be back then. Usually, it's more like another week or two after that reevaluation. So, in Monk's case, he likely won't be back until the start of December.
According to the website Hashtag Basketball, the average ankle sprain usually causes basketball players to miss eight days of action. If Monk misses 3 weeks with this sprain, he'll be out over twice as long as the average sprain.
Yes, Monk's sprain (moderate) is more severe than the average sprain. But it doesn't make this blow hurt any less, especially when you factor in how abysmal the Kings' bench has been this year. Now, just imagine how bad it will be without Monk there to buoy the unit.
Sacramento Kings receive some good news
The injury news wasn't all bad for the Kings today. About an hour after the Monk news came out, we got updates on Devin Carter and Orlando Robinson (neither of whom has played for the Kings yet this year).
Robinson has been cleared for contact (MCL sprain) and will be re-evaluated (there is that word again) in the coming days. Look for him to be back in the lineup in the next week or two.
Meanwhile, Carter (shoulder) – the team's prized first round lottery pick – has been cleared for unrestricted shooting. The next round of updates for him will come in January. While we still don't know for certian, it seems like we will get to see him play at some point this year.