De’Aaron Fox returns, exits with quad injury against Philadelphia
By Tyler Watts
De’Aaron Fox returned from a quad injury suffered on Dec. 14 only to exit with a quad injury against Philadelphia. Continue reading for more information.
The Sacramento Kings produced a fantastic performance against the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 19. The Kings struggle early and trailed by nine at halftime, but Sacramento rallied in the second half to earn a 101-95 victory in Philadelphia. Zach Randolph had 27 points, and the Kings earned just their fifth road win of the season. Below is a highlight video of that game in case you missed the action.
The news started off positive, but took a turn for the worse of Sacramento’s prized rookie, though. De’Aaron Fox returned to the starting five after missing Sunday’s game in Toronto with a right quad contusion. He suffered the injury on Dec. 14 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Fox only lasted 11 minutes before the quad became problematic again. It was an ugly night as he scored just two points with one rebound, one assist, and one turnover on one of four shooting from the field and zero of two from the foul line. It looked like he reinjured the quad, but that may not be the case as mentioned in this Tweet from Kings’ Sideline Reporter Kayte Christensen.
Spoke to Kings PR and was told De’Aaron did not re-injure that right quad. Apparently wasn’t getting the lift off of it they would hope for so they are holding him out in the 2nd half. https://t.co/uYDXdW0UkW
— Kayte Christensen (@kayte_c) December 20, 2017
What the news means
The Kings play again on Wednesday in Brooklyn, so it is safe to assume Fox is out for that game. It appears as if he tried to rush back from the injury and he just was not ready to play. I suspect Sacramento holds him out this time around until they are certain Fox is 100 percent healthy. Stay tuned for updates on his status as they become available.
Who steps up?
Filling in for Fox could get hairy on Wednesday night. It is the second of a back-to-back, and George Hill missed Tuesday’s game with strep throat. If Hill cannot return, the only healthy point guard would be rookie Frank Mason. Mason had a heating pad on his back against Philadelphia. It is possible the Kings are rolling with just emergency point guard Garrett Temple in Brooklyn.
I suspect both George Hill and Frank Mason give it a go and get plenty of run with Fox sidelined in the near-term.
Final thoughts
De’Aaron Fox returned on Tuesday in Philadelphia but promptly exited after the medical staff deemed him not fully healed from his quad injury. It was a disappointment sight, but the Kings’ rookie will hopefully take the time to let it fully recover now. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
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