SACRAMENTO -- When the Kings tip off against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center, they’ll do so without center Richaun Holmes.
Holmes, 27, has started 50 of the Kings’ 54 games this season, but after missing the second half of the team’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday with a sore right hamstring, the training staff sent him in for an MRI, which revealed a strain.
Not only will Holmes miss Wednesday’s game, but he won’t travel with the Kings on their two-game road trip to Phoenix and Dallas.
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With Holmes out of action, the plan is to run a three-headed hydra at the five. Damian Jones, who is a week into a 10-day contract, will get the start, but Chimezie Metu and Hassan Whiteside are also available for head coach Luke Walton.
Holmes is having a breakout season for Sacramento. In his second season with the club, the 6-foot-10 big is averaging 14.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 30 minutes per game. He also ranks second in the NBA in field goal percentage at 64.1 percent.
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While the news on Holmes isn’t great, third-year power forward Marvin Bagley is set to rejoin the Kings Thursday in Phoenix. The former No. 2 overall draft pick has been away from the team while healing up from a fractured left hand.
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Bagley will likely need time to acclimate back to the team after missing more than a month of action, but he’s another scoring option for the team and can help on the glass as well.