Sacramento Kings Decimated by Injuries as Keegan Murray and Ben Simmons Ruled Out
The Sacramento Kings will be without Keegan Murray, Ben Simmons, and two others on October 29, scrambling betting markets and rotation plans.
HotTakes Editorial TeamUpdated 1 min read
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The Sacramento Kings' injury report is starting to look like a CVS receipt. If you were hoping for a fully operational beam-lighting tonight, you are going to be severely disappointed.
According to the latest October 29 update from Underdog NBA, Sacramento is officially ruling out Keegan Murray, Ben Simmons, Dylan Cardwell, and Maxime Raynaud. That is a massive chunk of frontcourt depth and perimeter defense completely wiped off the board before breakfast.
"Underdog NBA released the official injury report on October 29 detailing the absences."
We do not need to spend too much time analyzing Ben Simmons being on an injury report, because that is just a foundational law of the universe at this point. But losing Murray is a brutal blow for a team that relies heavily on his floor spacing and two-way versatility to keep the offense humming.
The Kings are already trying to bounce back from a rough 128-120 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers just a few days ago on October 24. Navigating the Western Conference is hard enough without having to duct-tape a rotation together in the opening weeks of the season.
Speaking of Portland, the Trail Blazers are not escaping the injury bug either, with Shaedon Sharpe officially ruled out for tonight's action. On the flip side, the Memphis Grizzlies somehow submitted a completely clean injury report, which feels like a typo given their recent history, but we will take it.
For anyone monitoring the betting markets, Sacramento missing four rotation pieces completely scrambles the board. You have to account for a massive shift in usage rates and available minutes, especially with Murray's offensive production sitting on the bench.
We are still waiting on the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and New Orleans Pelicans to actually submit their homework and release their statuses. Until then, expect the lines to keep shifting as the Kings try to figure out who is actually available to lace them up tonight.
Key stats
Key stats4 Sacramento Kings players ruled out for October 29
Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Sacramento Kings 128-120 on October 24
What's next
The Kings will have to dig deep into their bench to fill the void, while the rest of the league waits for Cleveland, Atlanta, and New Orleans to finally submit their injury statuses.
