Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray was assigned to the team’s G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, earlier this week and has been practicing with the team. Murray made the quick trek down I-5 on November 16 to join up with the Stockton club and will be practicing with them this week.
The young forward has been out for the start of the regular season since undergoing surgery in October for a torn UCL ligament in his left thumb. This is not his shooting hand despite the fact that he is left-handed but still not an injury that he could play through. He is actually ambidextrous and does most of his usual tasks with left hand except, oddly enough, for his shooting.
Some expect Murray to make his season debut this week but that would require Murray to meet up with the Kings in the midst of their five-game road trip. They face Oklahoma City on November 19 before a back-to-back in Memphis and a trip to Denver on November 22nd. A more likely scenario is Murray making his debut on Monday night when the Timberwolves make a visit to the Golden 1 Center.
Murray’s return has been highly anticipated as he brings an element of defense and three-point shooting that has been sorely lacking for the Kings this season. Sacramento ranks 27th in defensive rating much to the chagrin of head coach Doug Christie who made his living in the NBA with hard-nosed defense.
Offensively the Kings are 25th in the league and some of that undoubtedly has to do with them being 29th in three-point attempts at just 31.5 per game. They are hitting these shots at a decent clip at 37.2% but the volume is sorely lacking in the modern NBA. Murray averages 6.3 attempts from three for his career so that should help bump up those team averages and boost the offense.
Christie will have his hands full adjusting his starting lineup with Murray returning but we can anticipate him joining Domantas Sabonis in the frontcourt. That likely moves young guard Keon Ellis to the bench where he has been deployed for the most part this season. Kings fans shouldn’t expect Murray to be the savior of the season but he at the very least provides a solution to many of the issues facing the team this year.
