De'Andre Hunter was cleared on the Saturday night injury report, a day after being listed Out with an illness. The Kings forward is no longer on the report ahead of Sunday's game against the Heat.
What happened
De'Andre Hunter was moved to Cleared on the injury report at 8:40 PM ET on Saturday, Nov 7. His previous status was Day-To-Day. No detail or comment accompanied the update. The illness was first reported Friday, Nov 6, when he was listed Day-To-Day and then Out the same day. On Saturday he went from Out back to Day-To-Day, and the final update that night cleared him. The report gives no expected return date because none is needed for a cleared player.
What it means for the Kings
Sacramento plays the Heat on Sunday, Nov 8 at 9:00 PM ET. The Kings are 1-8, 14th seed, and have lost two straight. Hunter averages 13.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 31.2 minutes over 8 games this season. The Kings are 1-7 with him and 0-1 without him. When he missed time, the minutes went mostly to Darius Acuff Jr. at 36.8, Domantas Sabonis at 35.5 and Zach LaVine at 33.5. Precious Achiuwa played 26.6 minutes. Keegan Murray is listed Out with a left ankle issue, so Hunter's availability matters for the wing rotation.
What to watch
The next injury report will show whether Hunter stays clear before the Heat game. Sacramento has three players listed Out: Keegan Murray with a left ankle issue, Ben Simmons with a right Achilles issue and Maxime Raynaud with a right knee issue. No return dates have been announced for them. Hunter's workload against Miami is the main thing to track, given he has averaged more than 31 minutes this season.
Is De'Andre Hunter playing vs the Heat?
He is expected to be available. Hunter was cleared on the Saturday night injury report and carries no listed status for Sunday's 9:00 PM ET game against the Heat.
When will De'Andre Hunter be back?
He is already cleared. He was listed Out with an illness on Nov 6 and Day-To-Day on Nov 7 before being cleared the same night.