De’Aaron Fox is a star, and he has played some of his best basketball this season. Especially defensively and as a three-point shooter, he has made significant strides. That has not come easy, however, and at times this year, Fox looked incredibly tired.
Being the team’s top offensive option while also having to produce defensively wears on you. Most other star guards in this league are surrounded by a group of solid defenders and don’t have to be at their absolute best on defense. Fox does not have that luxury. The only other good defenders on the team playing meaningful minutes are Keegan Murray and Davion Mitchell.
Besides that, Fox has been dealing with an ankle injury. He missed some time because of it early in the season. When he first went down, the Kings fell apart completely. Being the engine that makes the entire team run, wears on you, and it’s been showing.
Yesterday, De’Aaron Fox looked ready for the All-Star break
After a great win over the Denver Nuggets, the Kings fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams both hit the Kings with over 30 points and they had no answer.
Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, and Davion Mitchell tried their hardest to keep the Kings in the game, but it wasn’t enough. Something was missing—Fox’s All-Star production.
He has gone head-to-head with Gilgeous-Alexander before, leading the Kings to a win, but this time he just wasn’t all there. He finished the game with 15 points, 5 assists, and 3 turnovers, but those points did not come easy.
Going 6-17 from the field and 2-8 from long range, Fox struggled all game long. He is one of the fastest players in the league and knows how to use it. Yesterday, he came out looking slow and sluggish on both ends of the floor, however, causing Coach Brown to sub him out early in the first quarter. He was without a field goal until late in the second quarter.
Everyone has bad games, and even the brightest stars in the league are entitled to them, but in Fox’s case, it seems like he could just use a break. The Kings have two games left—on Tuesday against the Suns and on Wednesday against the Nuggets—before the All-Star break.
After Wednesday, their next game isn’t until February 22, and since Fox was not voted to the All-Star squad, he will be able to get some time off. Hopefully, that will allow him to get right and come out with the same level of intensity we saw earlier this season.
The Kings will need it for the last stretch of the regular season because playoff spots in the West don’t come easy.