Sacramento has multiple players landing on the injury list. What impact does this have versus Philadelphia?
Looks like Doug Christie will have a far more limited lineup that originally anticipated in the Sacramento Kings-Philadelphia 76ers game on Thursday.
The head coach has already dealt with injuries up and down his roster. But here are the latest ailments via James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento on Wednesday.
"Nique Clifford is questionable for tomorrow night's Kings/Sixers game with left hamstring soreness. Malik Monk is also questionable with a right ankle sprain," Ham posted on X.
Clifford rises as a big loss even with Sacramento dealing with the season its having. The rookie threw down an epic poster dunk against the Charlotte Hornets last Thursday. He showed signs of adjusting to the NBA speed in recent weeks before his hamstring ailment.
Monk hasn't been healthy in quite some time. He last earned minutes on March 10 against the Indiana Pacers (11 with four points).
But the two aren't the only key injuries here. Sacramento did receive some welcoming news on key reserve center Drew Eubanks, who had dealt with a bad thumb.
"Sacramento Kings center Drew Eubanks underwent successful surgery to repair a torn UCL in his left thumb. The procedure was performed by Dr. Steven Shin at the Linden Surgical Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. Eubanks will be listed as out for the rest of the 2025-26 season and is expected to make a full recovery. Updates will be provided when appropriate," the Kings announced via a news release Wednesday.
Sacramento once again must trust a heavy dosage of Maxime Raynaud down low. Raynaud is fresh off dropping a career-high 32 points, which further fueled new chatter for him to land on the All-NBA Rookie First Team.
The Kings also have Russell Westbrook as a valuable presence on the assists front. Especially after moving to fifth overall on the league's all-time list and surpassing Steven Nash in the process.
Their Thursday opponent remains in the playoff hunt out east. Philly will enter the contest at 37-32 overall and sitting at ninth in the Eastern Conference standings. Philadelphia is pursuing as high as the sixth seed to avoid playing in the play-in tournament. Sacramento, meanwhile, continues to find itself likely to lock up a high draft pick...which could still be the No. 1 pick once the NBA Draft Lottery rolls out the selections on May 10.
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