Brutal Kings injury update comes at the worst possible time

As the Sacramento Kings are trying to get out of the Play-In Tournament, the injury bug doesn't discriminate when it bites. And it's hit a key component of the Kings roster.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk "has suffered a sprained right MCL" and will miss the next 4-to-6 weeks with the injury.

Monk has enjoyed a great season thus far, averaging 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game while shooting at an efficient clip of 44 percent from the floor and 35 percent from 3-point range. Most importantly, the Kings were able to trust the veteran to play 26 above-average minutes every night he was available.

With this recent injury, the Kings will be missing Monk for the rest of the regular season and the beginning of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the very least. Frankly, there is a good chance that the veteran has played his last game this year.

And that's a big loss the Kings will have to figure out how to handle.

Who will replace Malik Monk in the Kings rotation?

Sacramento also lost Kevin Huerter for the entire season and will likely be forced to play Keon Ellis for major minutes with the limited options that they have.

Ellis has recently shown up well for the Kings when called upon, averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks per game over his last 10 outings. The Kings will also look for Davion Mitchell and Chris Duarte to step up in backup minutes.

In the wake of the Monk injury update, the Kings' road to keeping out of the Play-In Tournament just got much harder. If Sacramento wants to earn a top-six seed, they will likely need great performances from Ellis and the rest of the deeper part of the bench.