Luke Walton says Kings missed Tyrese Haliburton ‘a lot’ vs. Suns

Tyrese Haliburton’s presence on the court is such a valuable one for the Sacramento Kings. That was evident on Monday night in the Kings’ 109-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The Kings had 24 turnovers against the Suns, ten of which came in the third quarter where the Kings were outscored 31-12, effectively costing them the game. Haliburton is a guy the Kings can rely on to be steady with the ball in his hands especially when the turnovers start stacking up.

The game before against the Indiana Pacers, Haliburton was a catalyst for the Kings coming back and nearly stealing a victory in a game where they largely struggled.

Walton spoke to how much the team values Haliburton and the way he can energize the team when he’s on the floor.

“He’s done a nice job of picking up the energy and the spirit when it’s not there. We definitely missed that out there tonight and we’re hopeful we’ll get him back soon ...” Walton said after the Suns game. “We don’t know when he’s going to be back and we can’t just wait for him. We need the guys that are out there to be ready to play and step up and keep us playing at the level we’ve got accustomed to playing at this season.”

Haliburton had been starting to get rolling this season prior to tweaking his back, so hopefully, this injury doesn’t curb his momentum too much once he comes back.

Haliburton remains questionable on the injury report for the Kings ahead of their matchup on Wednesday night against the Spurs.