Devin

Carter

Westbrook will be back on the court after a thigh contusion sidelined him for Thursday’s win over the Mavericks. While his return means that Devin Carter will head back to the bench, the second-year guard should still play plenty with the Kings headed for the draft lottery.

The Kings won’t have Russell Westbrook or Keegan Murray for Thursday’s game, opening up two spots in the starting lineup. They’ll be replaced in the lineup by Carter and Clifford, with the latter offering a higher ceiling for the silly season. Sacramento’s other three starters are unchanged.

The Kings are littered with injuries and are trending to have the best lottery odds for the top pick in the draft, so they’re not going to push Westbrook here. Nique Clifford and Devin Carter figure to pick up the majority of the minutes and usage with Westbrook out.

While Westbrook led the Kings in scoring on Wednesday, he put up those 22 points in 25 minutes. With the game being a blowout, the veteran point guard was not on the floor as long as he usually would. However, Kings fans and fantasy managers would likely argue that Westbrook should play around 25 minutes in more competitive games to free up time for the Kings’ younger guards. Made available after missing a few games with a back injury, Devin Carter picked up a DNP-CD in a game the Kings lost by 31 points. We’ll see if that changes in the near future.

Carter is good to go after sitting out Monday’s win over the Grizzlies. His return is likely to push Killian Hayes out of the rotation after the recent signing played 11 minutes off the bench in Memphis.

Carter did not play in Monday’s win over the Grizzlies, which factored into recent signing Killian Hayes playing 11 minutes off the bench. If Carter can play against the Rockets, don’t expect to see too much of Hayes.

Carter popped up on the injury report Monday afternoon with a back injury and has since been ruled out for the game against the Grizzlies. Malik Monk and Nique Clifford should both see more minutes and are worth streaming on a three-game slate with Carter out.

Carter’s late addition to Monday’s injury report doesn’t bode well for his availability. If Carter is unable to take the court, Malik Monk and Nique Clifford should see a boost in minutes, making both guards appealing streamers for the small slate.

Monk played 28 minutes off the bench, getting most of the backup point guard minutes in Saturday’s defeat. To his credit, he played well, committing just one turnover and shooting 50 percent from the field. However, it’s fair to wonder if Monk will get point guard minutes at Devin Carter’s expense the rest of the season. The 2024 first-round pick played just six minutes against the Spurs after averaging nearly 27 per over Sacramento’s prior six games. For the sake of the Kings’ rebuild, Carter should play more over the final two months of the season. But that may not be head coach Doug Christie’s opinion.

Westbrook sat out the Kings’ final game before the All-Star break, resulting in Devin Carter making his first career start. The veteran’s return should push Carter to the bench, but playing time won’t be an issue for the second-year guard, given where the Kings are in the standings.