SACRAMENTO -- If there is one player the Sacramento Kings cannot afford to lose, it’s Richaun Holmes. The 26-year-old big man has made himself indispensable in the rotation with his energy and strong play on both ends of the court.
When Holmes grabbed at his right shoulder in Monday’s 111-98 blowout win over the Golden State Warriors, there was a collective gasp in the audience. But the early news on the Kings’ starting center is encouraging.
“He’s going to come with us to Phoenix, we’ll see, hopefully he can play, if not then we’ve got to sit down as a staff and kind of see where we’re at and what direction we want to go in,” coach Luke Walton said.
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In 29.6 minutes per game, Holmes is averaging 13.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals. All of those numbers are career-highs for the five-year vet.
“With him being close to us and extremely important to what we do and how we’ve played, obviously we hope he’s available as soon as possible,” De’Aaron Fox said following the win.
Holmes finished with a modest seven points and four rebounds before going down against the Warriors. Harry Giles came off the bench to fill in for Holmes and played just under 16 minutes.
Giles showed some flashy passing skills early in the game, but he forced the ball on multiple occasions late and finished with four turnovers.
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Phoenix has a couple of big bodies in the post in Deandre Ayton and Aron Baynes. If Holmes can’t play, Walton can use Giles for stretches and he can steal some minutes at the position with Nemanja Bjelica.
The Kings also have veteran center Dewayne Dedmon on the roster, but he hasn’t seen action in 14 of the last 16 games and Walton has left him off the active roster for the last three games after he went public with a trade demand.
Walton was non-committal after the game on whether he would turn back to Dedmon, a player the Kings inked to a three-year, $40 million contract during the offseason.
Injuries have plagued the Kings throughout the first half of the season. Marvin Bagley III is still on the shelf with a left mid-foot sprain and Bogdan Bogdanovic has missed the last two games due to a sore right ankle and a battle with the flu.
[RELATED: Source: Kings unlikely to make Bogdanovic for Kuzma trade]
Bogdanovic was able to attend the game against the Warriors after staying home during the team’s loss to the Pelicans on Saturday. He was on the bench cheering on his teammates, but he did not make the trip to Phoenix with the team Monday evening and barring a late change of plans, he is unavailable for Tuesday's game.
Through the first 37 contests, the Kings have now missed 64 games due to injury and another six because of personal reasons.