Warriors-Kings: De’Aaron Fox expects to play Game 5 after injuring finger
De'Aaron Fox told reporters he expects to play in Game 5 on Wednesday,
despite injuring a finger on his shooting hand.
>Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox (5) takes a shot against Golden State
Warriors’ Kevon Looney (5) in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA
Western Conference first-round playoffs at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, April 23, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area
News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 25, 2023 at 3:34 p.m. | UPDATED: April 26, 2023 at 2:25
a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/25/warriors-kings-deaaron-fox-expects-to-play-game-5-after-injuring-finger/

SAN FRANCISCO — Sacramento star De’Aaron Fox expects to be available in
Game 5 of the Warriors-Kings series despite suffering a broken index
finger on his shooting hand.

Video on social media from Kings’ practice in Sacramento on Tuesday
showed Fox shooting free throws and knocking down 3-pointers while
wearing a splint on his left index finger, which he fractured in Game 4
on Sunday.

Fox is listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s game in Sacramento, though he
told reporters after practice that he plans to play.

“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. “But if it was to stay the exact same way it is right now,
I’ll be fine.”

Fox said he felt a jolt of pain from his finger on a play when Jordan
Poole and Andrew Wiggins both swung at it. He appeared to hurt it again
in the fourth quarter when he attempted a post-whistle layup over Kevon
Looney, who swiped at the ball. Their hands appeared to collide and Fox
was subsequently spotted shaking his left hand before grabbing it.

Though he played the rest of Sunday’s game, pain management will be
crucial for Fox going forward.

Tuesday’s practice was a promising sign for the first-time All-Star, who
is said to have dribbled and passed the ball without issue. It’s
unclear, though, how the injury could impact his ability to be
aggressive driving to the hole and on defense at game speed.

“With what I’m wearing, the big thing for me was could I feel the pad of
my finger,” Fox said. “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.”

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Fox has been one of the Warriors’ greatest challenges of this
first-round matchup. He’s averaged 31.5 points, seven assists, six
rebounds and 2.5 steals in the first four games of this best-of-seven
series.

“He’s a really good player,” Wiggins, one of the main defenders tasked
with the Fox assignment, said before the Warriors boarded a bus to
Sacramento. “It’s a team effort, not on one guy. Just got to continue
doing what we’re doing. He’s a tough player, he’s going to make some
tough shots, he’s going to make some tough plays, all you can do is stay
at it and stay aggressive on that side on defense.”

The Warriors are maintaining the status quo for Wednesday’s game despite
Fox’s injury.

“You just play, the game plan stays the same,” coach Steve Kerr said.
“Go out there and do what you have to do.”

The Warriors, whose road struggles have been a glaring issue all season,
have to win at least one game in Sacramento to advance to the Western
Conference semifinals. After winning back-to-back games at Chase Center
to tie the series at two apiece, the Warriors see Game 5 as an
opportunity to buck that trend of bad road luck.

Setting the tone early with tenacious defense and smart offense will be
key for Golden State to not put itself in a position where it’s playing
catch-up on enemy soil. Kerr is confident his crew will be locked in
from the jump.

“Sacramento’s crowd will make sure that we don’t let our guard down,
they will help us quite a bit in that regard,” Kerr said. “It’s
different in April and May and June than it is in January, December. If
we let our guard down, there’s something seriously wrong with us so
we’ll be ready to go.”

--
Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter
Madeline Kenney is the Bay Area News Group's Golden State Warriors beat
reporter for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. A Nebraska native, she
is graduate of Loyola University of Chicago. She holds a Bachelor in
Communication degree, with a major in broadcast journalism and minors in
sports management and marketing, and is a friend of Sister Jean, the
103-year-old nun who became famous during the Ramblers’ 2018 run to the
Final Four, Madeline previously worked for the Chicago Sun-Times
covering everything from sports to crime and politics. When she’s not
working, she enjoys trying new restaurants and exploring the great outdoors.