Take the Sacramento Kings, who are entering the season with a flimsy roster that could get their star center Domantas Sabonis killed. He’ll miss at least a week due to a hamstring strain. That means Sabonis will miss the much-anticipated season debut against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. He’ll miss the home opener against the Utah Jazz next Friday.
Sabonis’ injury occurred during the Kings’ preseason defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers last Wednesday. After the game he had a battery of testing. As such, Zone missed the preseason finale in Los Angeles on Friday night. The Kings have already ruled Sabonis out through at least October 26. They’re aiming to re-instate him for a home match-up against their lone-star state rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers.
With him out, the Kings will take a look at some other players who have emerged during the preseason. Isaac Jones, Dario Saric and Drew Eubanks are taking turns to audition for the role behind Sabonis. These strategic and tactical changes have the team looking forward to the next round of matches. Coaching staff members are grading them as they go along and figuring out the best way to fill the vacuum created by Sabonis’ absence.
The impact Sabonis’ loss would have on the Kings cannot be understated. They lean on his unique talents as much offensively as defensively. As the best player on their team, he has to be the one to set the tone and his presence was hugely missed in both games. The team’s success in these opening matches will likely depend on how well they are able to adapt in his absence.
Leave a Reply