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Sabonis out for Kings vs. Warriors game with hamstring injury

Sabonis out for Kings vs. Warriors game with hamstring injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings are ready to bounce back from an ugly home loss Monday night, but they’ll have to do so without their star center.

Domantas Sabonis, who originally was questionable for Sacramento’s NorCal showdown Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, will miss his sixth consecutive game with a Grade 1 hamstring strain.

Sabonis was cleared for on-court activity Saturday and practiced with the team Wednesday, but the team likely is being cautious with his return.

Kings backup big man Jonas Valančiūnas, who has stepped up in that starting role in Sabonis’ absence, likely will get the start against the Warriors.

Before his injury, Sabonis was averaging 19.5 points on 59.6-percent shooting from the field and 43.2 percent from 3-point range, with a league-leading 14.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 56 games this season.

In five games without Sabonis, Valančiūnas, who the Kings acquired at this year’s trade deadline, is averaging 13.4 points on 50.9 percent shooting, with 12.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in five games.

Kings forward/center Trey Lyles is questionable with left leg soreness, and Jake LaRavia was upgraded from questionable to available for Thursday’s game.

For Golden State, Jonathan Kuminga, who has missed the last 31 games with a nagging ankle sprain, is listed as probable. Gary Payton II was upgraded to available, and Brandin Pódziemski is out with a bilateral back strain.

The Warriors (37-28), who have won five consecutive games and 10 of their last 11, sit in the Western Conference’s No. 6 playoff seed entering Thursday’s contest.

The Kings (33-31), who are coming off a 133-104 blowout home loss to the New York Knicks, currently are ninth in the West.

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George consulting with doctors on injuries, procedure possible

George consulting with doctors on injuries, procedure possible  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Paul George is weighing his injury treatment options. 

On Monday, a Sixers official said George (left groin soreness) was “receiving treatment and continuing to consult with physicians.” The official said George would be re-evaluated before the Sixers’ game Friday night vs. the Pacers. 

Three days later, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported George is “consulting with doctors this week on treatment options for his groin and knee injuries, including a possible procedure.” NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark confirmed that report. 

George’s first season with the Sixers has been highly disappointing and injury-checkered. He hyperextended his left knee during the preseason and re-injured it on Nov. 20. He’s also dealt with a “lingering” groin problem and a left pinkie finger injury. The 34-year-old confirmed on Feb. 20 that he’d recently been taking injections to play through pain and said he was “just trying to give this team everything I have.” 

George hasn’t played since the Sixers’ March 4 loss to the Timberwolves. He had seven points on 3-for-11 shooting, seven rebounds and six assists that night.

Overall, he’s averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 41 appearances.

The Sixers are 22-43 and draft lottery odds now appear far more pertinent than the postseason. The team has ruled Joel Embiid (left knee injury), Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery) and Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery) out for the season. 

Along with those players, George, Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain and right finger sprain), Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management) and Lonnie Walker IV (concussion) were listed as out on the Sixers’ injury report going into their matchup with Indiana.

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How Post can unlock Kuminga upon long-awaited Warriors return

How Post can unlock Kuminga upon long-awaited Warriors return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors’ season shifted from mid and mediocre to an exciting, dangerous team once they added Jimmy Butler at the NBA trade deadline. More than a month after his team debut, the Warriors are bringing in another piece that should increase their odds for the playoffs and more with one month left in the regular season. 

Jonathan Kuminga, after missing the last 31 games to a badly sprained right ankle, is expected to make his return Thursday night against the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center. Steve Kerr isn’t going to mess with momentum, meaning Kuminga will come off the bench in short spurts. In his return, and especially as he gets his legs back under him, everybody will want to see how Butler and Kuminga fit together as part of a potential closing lineup. 

Coaches have shown Kuminga film of how he can learn from Butler. Clips highlight the many ways Butler makes the game easier for himself and his teammates, keeping the ball moving but also using his strength and smarts to get to the free-throw line. Those are all traits Kuminga can learn from and continue to grow as an overall player. 

Yet somebody else who Kuminga hasn’t played with outside of a few seconds might be just as important. Can rookie center Quinten Post help unlock the best of Kuminga? 

Kerr tried going big to begin the season, starting Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis together with Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins in the backcourt. Despite the Warriors’ record, Kuminga at small forward didn’t work. The three-man grouping of Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis played seven games together and had a -0.8 net rating with a 112.6 offensive rating and 113.5 defensive rating in 38 minutes. That’s where Post, who has overtaken Jackson-Davis’ spot in the rotation, comes into play. 

“I think me and JK will be a great fit together,” Post said to reporters Wednesday at Warriors practice. “Just adds another athletic guy out there with size, length. I think he’s going to help us out on defense, adding another body to the mix. And then offensively he’s just somebody who puts a lot of pressure on the rim.

“Hopefully that leads to a lot of open shots for me.” 

Butler’s ability to use his playmaking skills and brute strength in getting to the paint has been huge for Post. The two have played 157 minutes together in Butler’s 13 games and have a 13.0 net rating – 119.6 offensive rating and 106.5 defensive rating. 

The best strategy for Kuminga has always been surrounding him with shooters and connectors like Post and Butler. There’s a reason why the players Kuminga has shared the floor with most this season has been Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Green and Curry. Last season, he played the most minutes with Curry and Klay Thompson. The year before that, Kuminga’s second season, he spent his most minutes alongside Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo and Thompson. 

But as a rookie, Kuminga played 460 minutes sharing the floor with Nemanja Bjelica, perhaps the closest comparison to Post since the Warriors drafted Kuminga in 2021. Bjelica shot 36.2 percent on 2.1 3-point attempts in his only season playing for the Warriors, at 33 years old in what was his final NBA season. 

Post through his first 27 NBA games is taking four 3-pointers per game and shooting 41.7 percent from deep. 

“In theory, they should be pretty good together on offense, because you have the spacing of QP and the slashing of JK,” Kerr said. “I imagine we’ll find some lineup where those guys are together, too.”

Back in training camp, Kuminga declared himself a small forward. Kerr made it known he believes he’s a power forward. The caveat was putting Kuminga next to a stretch big. It’s part of what made a possible trade for Lauri Markkanen or Nikola Vučević so intriguing. 

The Warriors now have an in-house option to pair him next to. 

Podziemski’s lower back soreness will keep him out of the Warriors’ game Thursday night against the Kings. Post likely will start, joining Curry, Butler, Green and Moses Moody. Whether it’s early in the game, the middle or end, the duo to pay close attention to will be a rookie and the re-emergence of what Kuminga can bring to a team that now views themselves as contenders.

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