Keegan Murray’s thumb injury puts the Kings in a challenging spot when it comes to deciding their starting lineup, especially since there isn’t much dependable depth behind the former fourth overall pick at the power forward position, according to James Ham of The Kings Beat.
Head coach Doug Christie acknowledged the difficulty of filling that void on Sunday.
“It’s tough because Keegan has size, strength, athleticism and he shoots 40 percent [from 3-point range], I think everyone is looking for that,” Christie said.
“We have a couple of different guys that can equal Keegan, but we don’t have Keegan, so replacing him is definitely going to be difficult.”
With two preseason games left on Wednesday and Friday, Christie said he plans to “try a couple of different things” in those matchups while evaluating who makes the most sense as the fifth starter next to Dennis Schröder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis.
As Ham points out, veterans Dario Saric and Drew Eubanks, along with rookies Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud, are in the mix, though Sacramento appears deeper in the guard spots with Malik Monk and Keon Ellis expected to come off the bench.
Ham adds that the team’s lack of depth at power forward was a major factor in why the Kings pursued Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga earlier in the offseason.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Butler, Warriors, Clippers, K. Brown https://t.co/UyDUNJPoF0 pic.twitter.com/LFfRdtaN82
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