Kings Run Into Injury Concerns in Crushing Loss to Pelicans

The Sacramento Kings went into Monday's matchup shorthanded, leaving with a loss and even more injuries.

The Sacramento Kings snapped their six-game win streak on Monday night in a blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Kings got embarrassed 129-93 on the second leg of a back-to-back and the fourth leg of a six-game road stretch.

While the Kings looked the worst they have all season with G De'Aaron Fox on the court, Sacramento's nightmares are coming to life. After being fortunate with minimal injuries in their 48-win 2022-23 season, the Kings have caught the injury bug early into their new campaign. 

The Kings went into Monday's matchup without F Sasha Vezenkov, G Keon Ellis, F Trey Lyles, and C Alex Len, who have all been dealing with various injuries. When Kings fans thought it could not get worse, F Keegan Murray and G Chris Duarte each left the loss early with injuries.

Duarte suffered a hand injury and was reported to be available to return shortly after but remained sidelined. Murray did not come out of the locker room after halftime, as he was reportedly dealing with "a lower back issue," per James Ham of ESPN1320.

With a shorthanded rotation, the Kings failed to step up. Despite the All-Star duo of Fox and C Domantas Sabonis entering the game on hot streaks, the Pelicans' impressive defense shut them down, along with the rest of the team.

This Monday night matchup in New Orleans was always going to be a tough one for Sacramento, but the injuries did not help their cause. The Kings will need their supporting cast back in action as soon as possible as they begin to look ahead to another matchup in New Orleans on Wednesday.

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