SACRAMENTO -- All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox plans to tough it out Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Kings’ first-round NBA playoff series against the Golden State Warriors.
The Kings announced Monday that Fox will be listed as doubtful for Game 5 with an avulsion fracture of the index finger on his left shooting hand. But after practice Tuesday in Sacramento, Fox was spotted putting up shots with padding and a splint on the injured finger.
Leading up to the practice, there was plenty of concern about Fox’s ability to shoot and handle the basketball after X-rays revealed the bone on the left side of the tip of his left index finger was chipped. That finger, of course, is essential in dribbling and shooting a basketball, especially in his dominant hand.
Fox was encouraged by the way everything felt Tuesday afternoon.
“The ball-handling actually was fine,” Fox said after practice. “As soon as I got out, dribbling and passing was fine. For me, the most important thing was could I shoot as pain-free as possible?
“As we got going, as the pain started going away, I feel like it was my normal shot. I think I’ll be good.”
Fox revealed that he suffered the injury with around 6:30 remaining of Sacramento’s 126-125 loss to Golden State in Game 4. His finger was jammed when Warriors guard Jordan Poole and forward Andrew Wiggins swatted at the basketball as he drove to the hoop.
Fox played the final six-plus minutes with the fractured finger. He scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds over the final 6:30 and set up teammate Harrison Barnes for a potential game-winner in the closing seconds.
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“Adrenaline was pumping, so I was fine the rest of the game,” Fox said of playing with a broken finger. “After the game, it really started to swell up and that’s when I began to feel it.”
Three days later, the sixth-year guard plans to take the court again in Game 5. He knows there's no easy path ahead.
“I expect it to get hit," Fox said. "At this point of the season something hurts anyway. You play through the pain. No excuses coming from me.”
Fox has proven he’s built for playoff basketball over the first four games of the series. He went off for 38 points in Game 1, contributed to the impressive defensive effort in Game 2, finished one rebound and one assist away from a triple-double in Game 3 and registered another 38 points in Game 4.
The Kings need two more wins to send the defending champs packing for summer vacation. To do so, they’ll need Fox at his best.
He plans to deliver.
“I’m very optimistic about tomorrow," Fox said. "As long as the pad on my finger is fine, then I feel like I’m good to go.”