Malik Monk has been one of the most consistent players for the Sacramento Kings this season, a turnaround from his earlier years in the NBA when he was anything but.
That turnaround began last season when Monk signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after receiving minimal interest on the open market. Inexplicably, the Lakers chose to allow Monk to walk, much to the delight of the Kings.
“He’s been giving us a big lift.”
🎙 Coach Brown on @AhmadMonk‘s performance off the bench pic.twitter.com/MxEO6HD5XG
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) November 24, 2022
“He’s been giving us a big, big lift. Not just with his scoring and his shooting ability, but his ability to play-make, too. His ability to play-make and get others involved has been fantastic. His ability to finish around the rim has been great. He’s versatile defensively. So he’s been a big lift,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said. “He’s always engaged, which makes it easy trying to talk out there on the floor and help his teammates. He’s been good for us.”
Malik Monk’s solid season shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. He showed this consistency last season as a Laker. He played in 76 games and put up a career-high of 13.8 points per game and shot 47.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range.
This season he’s putting up 13.6 points but what stands out the most is his 4.1 assists. Monk has never averaged more than 2.9 assists. He has also improved his three-point shooting from his early days with the Charlotte Hornets. This season he’s knocking them down at a 36.2 percent clip after shooting 39.1 percent last year.
The Kings are looking to snap the NBA’s longest streak of consecutive seasons missing the playoffs. They have some believing that this team could grab one of the top five seeds in the Western Conference.
Source link: https://clutchpoints.com/kings-thankful-for-lakers-not-re-signing-malik-monk
