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Welcome in to your morning cup of Kings. After a much needed victory over the Grizzlies on Monday, the Kings flew to Houston where they faced the Rockets on the first night of a back-to-back.

The game went as so many have this season, with the Kings falling in lopsided fashion. More importantly than the final score of 128-97, the Kings lost Keegan Murray to injury before the end of the first quarter.

Fresh off a 20-game absence due to a moderate left ankle sprain, Murray came down awkwardly on his left leg and limped to the locker room. He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game with a left ankle injury and the team has yet to update his status today.

There was hope that Murray would be the focal point of the final stretch of the season and that might still happen. It is also possible that Murray will join the likes of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and De'Andre Hunter, who have all been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Murray was candid with the media about his recovery from injury last week following the team’s loss to the Orlando Magic coming out of the All-Star break.

“It was rough, it was my first bad ankle sprain I’ve ever had.“ Murray said. “I did a pretty good amount of damage to it, so there were a lot of moments where I didn’t know if I'd be back at this point, just because it was taking a while. Obviously, it won’t be 100 percent until the summertime when we have break, so for me, I'm just happy to be out there.“

At this point, the Kings have to balance Murray's potential development over the last 22 games of the season with his recovery from not only the initial injury, but Wednesday’s setback.

With Murray set to begin a new five-year, $140 million contract extension next season, it might be time to err on the side of caution and let him heal completely.

It got worse. Losing 16 straight was bad. Losing Keegan Murray to another injury is worse. The Kings fell to 13-47 on the season with a 128-97 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Here are six quick thoughts as the team tries to regroup after another injury:

🏀 1. Shrug. At least someone came ready to shoot. Russell Westbrook shot the ball 14 times in the first quarter and 18 times in the first half. He finished the night with a team-high 22 points on 10-of-19 from the field. Someone had to score early. Westbrook raised his hand the highest.

🏀 2. Facepalm. Keegan Murray attempted a defensive challenge in the paint and came down awkwardly on the left ankle that already cost him 20 games. The injury bug has brutalized the Kings all season long. This was supposed to be Murray's chance and now that's in question.  

🏀 3. Moving on up. DeMar DeRozan passed a pair of former Celtics in John Havlicek and Paul Pierce on the NBA's all-time scoring list. DeRozan finished with 15 points and now has 26,406 points for his career, which has him in 20th place all-time. 

🏀 4. Let it fly. Nique Clifford looked confident shooting the three for one of the few times this season. He knocked down 3-of-7 from deep on his way to 15 points. Clifford added 3 steals, but had a quiet night as a rebounder and assist man. 

🏀 5. Outdueled. Maxime Raynaud had his double-double streak end at three games. He still managed to score 11 points and grab 8 rebounds, but he also struggled to defend Alperen Sengun, who finished with a 26-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist triple-double. 

🏀 6. An appearance. Recently signed two-way player Patrick Baldwin made his Kings debut. It wasn't anything special, but he's extremely mobile for a 7-footer and worth taking a longer look at. Same goes for Killian Hayes, who signed a 10-day earlier in the week. 

With a break in game coverage on Tuesday, the conversation shifted to the upcoming draft and a cursory look at some of the top prospects that could be waiting for the Kings with a top 5 pick. This is more evergreen content than the standard Locked On pod.

We will dive deeper into the draft as we move closer to the end of the season and then heavily leading up to the May 10 Draft Lottery and the late June NBA Draft. Expect plenty of player profiles and some visits from draft experts around the globe.

For now, here is some basic draft primer discussing six potential players projected to go at the top end of the 2026 NBA Draft, plus a look at early team needs and key dates ahead:

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