The Sacramento Kings will look to pick up another much-needed victory on Wednesday when they host the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sacramento is coming off a victory on Monday over the Memphis Grizzlies that ended their five-game losing streak but they have a tough matchup ahead of them on Monday against the Cavaliers who have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the past month.
Cleveland’s 16-game winning streak ended on Sunday to the Orlando Magic but they have still arguably been the best team in the NBA this season as they hold the best record in the league and sit at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
To make matters worse for the Kings, they received some terrible news regarding the health of their star center Domantas Sabonis ahead of Wednesday’s matchup. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Sabonis will miss at least 10 days with a right ankle sprain.
Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis will miss at least 10 days with a right ankle sprain, sources tell ESPN. The NBA's leading rebounder returned last week after sitting for six straight games, and will now miss additional time. Kings are 3-6 without Sabonis.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 19, 2025
This is a massive blow for Sacramento, especially since Sabonis returned from a hamstring injury last Friday after being sidelined for six consecutive games.
The Kings will desperately miss Sabonis’ production as they are 3-6 without him in the lineup this season.
Of course, Sabonis has put together arguably the best season of his career thus far and he also leads the NBA in rebounds.
This season, the 28-year-old center is averaging 19.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game while shooting 59.3% from the field and 42.5% from three-point range.
With Sabonis now set to miss time once again, expect Jonas Valanciunas to take over as the Kings starting center beginning on Wednesday when they take on the Cavaliers at home.
Valanciunas played well in Sabonis’ six-game absence but it is clear that Sacramento is a much better team when Sabonis is on the court and they will have to rely on Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan to provide much of the offense and others will have to step up.
Fans can catch Wednesday’s game between the Cavaliers and Kings at 10:00 p.m. EST.
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