An undisclosed illness has been playing havoc with the Sacramento Kings. It caused Malik Monk to miss half the preseason and knocked Isaac Jones out of the season opener. But Monk made his return for the opener, and proved he's still a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
The preseason was tough on Monk. He missed the last two games as well as a few practices due to the aforementioned illness. Even during the two preseason games he did play in, Malik just didn't seem like himself. He looked sluggish, like he was a step behind his usual pace.
Now that everyone knows how sick he was, that makes a lot more sense. Simply put, he was sluggish and he was a step behind his usual pace, just like any other human being when they're sick. Monk was not operating at his usual capacity and it showed.
Malik Monk takes the Suns to school
The numbers Malik put up in his shortened preseason definitely reflected that. Fortunately, Monk was feeling better in time for the season opener as he put up some big numbers on offense off the bench. That's the Malik Monk fans know and love.
Monk ended up playing 27:23 minutes, the longest any non-starter was on the court. He checked out of the game with 19 points, shooting seven of 13 field goals overall and going three for four from the three-point line. He was the best shooter from beyond the arc for the Kings at 75%.
In addition, Monk chalked up one rebound and two assists. His career averages are 2.6 rebounds and 3.2 assist per game, so he wasn't too far off from where he usually is but was still below his averages. There's obviously still some work to do to get back to his full competitive form.
The Kings' extraordinary Sixth Man
No one on the Kings' roster plays better or with the same level of consistency off the bench than Malik Monk. As such, it seemed odd that the front office was working so hard to trade him in the offseason. Monk is an integral part of the second unit.
If Monk can get something going with other benchers like Russell Westbrook, Keon Ellis, and Drew Eubanks, there is a lot of potential for that second line to get really, really dangerous. It also paves the ways for Malik to return to Sixth Man of the Year conversations.
On more than one occasion, Malik Monk has been in the mix for Sixth Man of the Year in the NBA. His return performance in the season opener was absolute proof that he still has that dog in him. Give Malik a chance, and he'll turn that bench into the engine that drives the Sacramento Kings.