The Kings have been rolling as of late, while they fight for their playoff lives. They’re currently sitting a half game back of the eighth seed but with the injury to Marvin Bagley III, they might’ve just dropped out of the race. Bagley went down during Wednesday’s game against the Bucks with a left knee sprain which will keep him out for at least a couple of weeks.
The injury is devastating for the Kings as they already don’t have much depth in their frontcourt but this might be a chance for Harry Giles to prove that he was worth a first-round pick a couple of years ago. In Bagley’s absence on Wednesday night, Giles finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in only 17 minutes. His stats per 36-minutes are really astonishing as he is averaging nearly 18 points and 10 rebounds. He should get some more run for the next two weeks which gives the Kings a chance to evaluate him and see if he really is part of their future plans.
As for the rest of the Kings’ players, this stretch without Bagley will give Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox extra shots and minutes. The Kings will need their two young stars to prove their worth and step up as they try to make the playoffs for the first time since the 05-06 season in which they lost in the first round. Kings might just squeeze in this year as the teams below them are struggling to even stay at .500.
