DeMar DeRozan has been everything the Sacramento Kings hoped for alongside De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. However, the Kings have struggled early this season, compounded by DeRozan dealing with a back injury.
After missing three games recently due to lower back tightness, DeRozan has reappeared on the Kings’ injury report with lower back muscle inflammation. In his third game back from injury against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the veteran star experienced discomfort and received electrical stimulation on his back in an attempt to alleviate the pain.
Despite finishing the game with 30 points on 13-of-21 shooting, DeRozan and the Kings fell 130-109, marking their fourth consecutive loss and dropping to 8-10 on the season. To make matters worse, DeRozan is set to miss more time due to his back injury, as he has already been ruled out for Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Adding to the Kings’ challenges, secondary big man Trey Lyles will also miss the game against Minnesota due to a right calf strain. Lyles has been diagnosed with a grade 1 calf strain and is expected to be re-evaluated in three to four weeks.
As for DeRozan, no specific timeframe has been provided for his return, which raises the likelihood that he could miss additional games beyond Wednesday’s matchup.
In 15 games this season, DeRozan has averaged 22.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Prior to joining the Kings, DeRozan had an impressive track record of durability, missing only 17 games over the last three seasons with the Chicago Bulls, which accounted for just seven percent of the team’s total games in that span.
Wednesday’s game will mark the fourth DeRozan has missed this season, accounting for 21 percent of the Kings’ games so far.
