{"id":126059,"date":"2026-01-09T02:44:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T02:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/126059\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T02:44:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T02:44:33","slug":"doug-christie-explains-playing-keon-ellis-over-malik-monk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/126059\/","title":{"rendered":"Doug Christie explains playing Keon Ellis over Malik Monk"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sacramento Kings\u2019 rotations have been inconsistent all season, largely due to an unfortunate number of injuries. Still, there\u2019s been a rotation spot battle between Keon Ellis and Malik Monk, both of whom have been available for most games.<\/p>\n

Most recently, Monk has been on the outside looking in. The 27-year-old was a healthy scratch in each of the last three games. Ellis logged two DNP-CDs earlier in the season, along with seven appearances of fewer than 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

Sacramento head coach Doug Christie has often referenced the \u201clogjam\u201d at the guard position on his roster, with Monk, Ellis, Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and rookie Nique Clifford.<\/p>\n

Westbrook and Schroder were offseason acquisitions by general manager Scott Perry, which left the roster imbalanced\u2014perhaps with the expectation of being able to make trades as well. Jonathan Kuminga, maybe?<\/p>\n

Before even reaching the Monk and Ellis part of the rotation, DeRozan and LaVine are each playing 33.1 minutes per night. Westbrook averages 29.1 minutes while Schroder is at 27.5. That\u2019s already four perimeter player logging heavy minutes, which has forced the Kings to play plenty of three-guard lineups\u2014or even four at times.<\/p>\n

In the games where Monk didn\u2019t appear, Ellis was given significantly more run.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will see Malik,\u201d Christie said when asked if he considers plugging the offensive spark plug back in.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I said earlier, we\u2019re giving Keon a run. It\u2019s going to be in and out a little bit. But the point is, I love Malik. He\u2019s one of my favorites, just talking about as a person. On the floor, coaching, all that different stuff, we make decisions to try to find our way, but we\u2019ll see him for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a team that\u2019s dead last in offensive rating (108.0), benching one of your best offensive weapons\u2014who averaged 17.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.8 rebounds last season\u2014seems questionable. Similar confusion was pointed towards Christie earlier in the season as Ellis watched from the bench. It\u2019s a challenging rotation to figure out, but Christie\u2019s made it clear that he\u2019s focused on improving the defensive end of the floor \u2014 while not ignoring offensive questions.<\/p>\n

When asked if benching Monk was a defensive decision, the Kings\u2019 head coach drew out his response before rejecting it: \u201cUhh, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, defense is everything, so we need to make sure that we\u2019re locking up. And I know when it comes to the defensive ratings and all these different things, Keon has been really good on the defensive end in some areas. \u2026 (like) off-ball,\u201d Christie continued. \u201cI talked to him about squaring up and making sure (to) keep the guy in front of him, but getting steals and different things like that. He has been great. So that\u2019s a yes-and-no answer, because there isn\u2019t really a thing. It was just more of a choice that, you know, we went in one direction for a little bit. Now we\u2019re going to give Keon an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacramento has a 119.2 defensive rating with Ellis off the court, compared to 116.7 with him on the court. That on-court defensive rating trails only Dylan Cardwell, Precious Achiuwa, Nique Clifford, and\u2026 Malik Monk.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s obvious that Ellis is a notably better defender than Monk. The same is true in reverse: Monk\u2019s creation and playmaking surpass Ellis\u2019s, but with plenty of other on-ball creators, it may make more sense to favor the defensive guard.<\/p>\n

Still, for a team with the worst offense in the NBA, a larger shake-up feels like it should\u00a0be under consideration. In his last moments of action, Monk was committing some tough-to-watch turnovers, but the importance of rhythm can\u2019t be overstated.<\/p>\n

With the trade deadline exactly one month away, a few moves could help clear the roster logjam, as Christie would say.<\/p>\n

Not playing one of the more talented offensive players on a roster that already lacks spacing and reliable paint touches is a head-scratcher\u2014but based on Christie\u2019s comments after Thursday\u2019s practice, it doesn\u2019t sound like we\u2019ve seen the last of Monk in the rotation.<\/p>\n

More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports<\/p>\n

With less than one month to go until the NBA trade deadline, are the Sacramento Kings any closer to making some moves? Does the Trae Young trade speak to Malik Monk\u2019s potential trade value around the NBA?<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2018s Sam Amick<\/a>\u00a0joined\u00a0The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross\u00a0on Thursday to share his intel on where things stand on Jonathan Kuminga trade conversations, Rich Paul\u2019s recent clients on De\u2019Aaron Fox not wanting to leave Sacramento, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the interest is still there,\u201d Amick said regarding the Kings and Kuminga. \u201cThey just talked last week. They plan on circling back. The Warriors are in a tough spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his last 13 games of availability, Kuminga has recorded a DNP-CD on 12 occasions, with the one exception featuring less than 10 minutes of action.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/p>\n

Sam Amick: Kings \u201cappear to be number one suitor\u201d for Kuminga<\/a><\/p>\n

Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season<\/p>\n

Friday, January 9th\u00a0\u2013 @ Golden State Warriors \u2013 7:00 PM PT
\nSunday, January 11th\u00a0\u2013 vs. Houston Rockets \u2013 6:00 PM PT
\nMonday, January 12th\u00a0\u2013 vs. Los Angeles Lakers \u2013 7:00 PM PT
\nWednesday, January 14th\u00a0\u2013 vs. New York Knicks \u2013 7:00 PM PT
\nFriday, January 16th\u00a0\u2013 vs. Washington Wizards \u2013 7:00 PM PT<\/p>\n

Thank you for reading\u00a0SactownSports.com<\/a>. Follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Google News<\/a>, and subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n

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