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Kings Make Call on Star Player’s Status vs Detroit Pistons

Will Domantas Sabonis face the Detroit Pistons on Thursday?
Justin Grasso|
Dec 16, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) and forward Domantas Sabonis (10) box out Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Dec 16, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) and forward Domantas Sabonis (10) box out Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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Detroit PistonsSacramento Kings

For Thursday night’s game, the Sacramento Kings are going to be without a key player against the Detroit Pistons. The veteran center Domantas Sabonis will not be in the lineup.

When the Kings went through their morning shootaround session on Thursday, Sabonis was noticeably absent. Sacramento added him to the injury report, downgrading his status to questionable. According to the official NBA injury report, Sabonis is dealing with an illness.

Just a couple of hours before the two teams are set to tip-off, the Kings announced they had updated Sabnonis’ status. He will not be a part of the action on Thursday.

This season, Sabonis has missed action just twice. His first absence came on November 16, when the Kings hosted the Utah Jazz. Without him, the Kings defeated the Jazz with a four-point win.

Two nights later, the Atlanta Hawks went into Sacramento and took down a Sabonis-less squad with a one-point win. Since then, Sabonis has been back in action and hasn’t missed a game in over a month.

In 28 matchups this season, Sabonis has averaged 21 points on 60 percent shooting from the field. From three, Sabonis has attempted about two shots per game. He’s shooting from three at a 42 percent clip.

Along with his scoring, Sabonis is averaging a double-double, producing 14 rebounds per game. In the playmaking department, he’s been dishing out six assists per outing.

The Kings are currently in a rut, losing their last four games. While the sample size without Sabonis is small, Sacramento is 1-1 in games he hasn’t played this year.

The Pistons are searching for their third win in a row against Sacramento on Thursday. The two teams are set to battle it out at 10 PM ET.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia

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