1. Malik Monk
Malik Monk has been the Kings’ third-best player all season long. He is the team’s heartbeat and an incredibly dynamic scorer on the perimeter. Yesterday, the Kings needed Monk to step up like we have seen him do so many times before.
He has won the team several games this season with some incredible clutch performances. Monk is the one Kings player who can replicate Fox’s style of taking over games and just forcing some buckets.
With Fox struggling to score, the Kings needed their Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Rather than picking up the team, Monk continued his bad three-point shooting and looked out of control and chaotic. He had a couple of nice dunks, but that was not enough.
It is a lot to shoulder. Monk has shown that he can do it before, however, and it was his responsibility to step up and change the energy of the game. Keon Ellis, Davion Mitchell, and Chris Duarte are not the types of players to change such a big game offensively.
Monk is, but he couldn’t save his team from being embarrassed on national TV. On the bright side, maybe this game—combined with his bad shooting performance against Orlando—will cause some concern among potential suitors in free agency.
Monk has been struggling offensively for a couple of games now and hopefully, two days of rest will help with that. He has not missed a game yet and plays heavy minutes, but the Kings need Monk at his best down the stretch.