The 2023 NBA Playoffs have been very unpredictable when it comes to the highest seeded teams winning games. One exception was the Sacramento Kings starting the series 2-0 up, but the Golden State Warriors have now tied everything at 2-2.
There are some lower ranked teams putting their opponents in trouble. The Los Angeles Lakers were led by LeBron James to take a 3-1 advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies. On the other side are the Milwaukee Bucks losing 3-1 to the Miami Heat largely because of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury.
This case was a particular one since the favorite seemed to be the lowest seeded club. The Kings were outstanding in the first two games to put the Warriors near the elimination. De’Aaron Fox was the main reason of those surprises, so they will need him to keep Steph Curry’s team behind.
Is Kings’ De’Aaron Fox playing on game 5 against the Warriors?
Fox has been the top scorer for Sacramento in their quest to eliminate the defending NBA champions. He is averaging 31.5 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in the first playoffs of his career. His dominance especially on the offensive side has been impressive, making a potential absence devastating for the team.
The Kings’ star got injured in the heartbreaking 126-125 loss on game 4. He suffered a “fractured index finger in his left shooting hand”, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. That put him as “doubtful” for the next game, but he provided an encouraging update.
“There was a chance I could possibly not play, but I’m like 99-100% going to play. Mike [Kings coach Brown] are on the same page. I feel all right. At the end of the day, I’m fine. I don’t think it’s a big deal, but obviously depending on how much it gets hit and things like that, then I feel like the pain will increase”, Fox said.
“With what I’m wearing, the big thing for me was could I feel the pad of my finger. If you’re playing basketball, you’re throwing a ball, you want to be able to feel the ball on your finger. That was the big thing for me and it’s protecting what it needs to protect”, he explained about the pretention he has been using.
