De’Aaron Fox is playing on a whole new level. In last night’s streak-breaking win over the Mavericks, Fox scored 30 points and added 12 assists and 4 rebounds. And it wasn’t even his best game of the last week.
Over the last 5 games, Fox has averaged 32.6 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2.4 steals. For the season Fox is at 25.3 points, 7.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds.
As noted by StatMuse, last night was Fox’s 7th 30 point game of the season.
De’Aaron Fox with his 17th 30-point game of the season tonight. He had 10 such games combined in his first 2 years.
30 PTS (12 in 4Q)
12 ASTHe leads the NBA in 4th quarter scoring this season. pic.twitter.com/QWMxczrjaW
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 19, 2021
As StatMuse also notes, Fox is leading the NBA in 4th quarter scoring.
We can hem and haw about whether Fox needs to score more earlier in games, but what Fox is doing is a model we’ve seen countless star guards do in the past. Spend the early part of the game getting teammates involved, share the ball, get everyone their opportunities. Then, when the chips are down, take over and dominate.
That, more than any other growth we’ve seen this season, is what impresses me so much about Fox this year. He’s always been the fastest guy on the floor, but he’s now augmented his game with a variety of ways to punish defenses. When Fox is ready to take over, he’s damn near unstoppable. His ability to finish through contact is noticeably improved, as is his ability to punish defenses with step-backs or mid-range pull ups.
Fox is establishing himself as one of the premier guards in the NBA. He still needs to be a little more consistent night to night, and it would be nice if he got more respect from the refs (miss me with the fact that he’s 10th in the NBA in FTAs, he still should be taking more).
In another miserable season of Kings basketball, it’s nice to have a player of Fox’s caliber to be that beacon of hope for the future.
No D-fence can stop him!
First of all, if the Fox graphic by Statmuse isn’t Aykis’ new icon…
Those are Player of the Week numbers, right there. Maybe if he wins enough of them, he can start getting half of the foul calls that he should be getting on shots.
Fox has been an absolute joy to watch as he manipulates defenses to get him or a teammate a good look. That little move where he was moving left across the lane then stopped, spun the other way, and got an easy short jumper was poetry. He almost makes you feel bad for the defender.
It seems the game has definitely slowed down for him. His first few years were all about his quickness and beating defenders with his speed, he’s now got a CP3 craftiness to his game that show growth and maturity.
Definitely. He maneuvers his way for that quick pop just inside the free throw line at will now, almost in slow motion. While we’re supposed to hate the mid-range, that’s money for unguarded superstars.
The mid range is still important, but the 3 and Rim shits have been dominating the analytics realm for a while now. Having that mid range makes the defense have to prepare for all 3 levels of scoring. Glad Fox is showing he can do some damage there
3 and Rim shits will be my next user name.
Gotta love auto-correct
I love that you use “shit” enough on your device so that it actually assumes you mean shits instead of shots. It’s taken me forever to convince my phone that I don’t mean “ducking.”
A much used word with 2 small children, a dog, and a horse. Oh, and being a Kings fan
Rim shits is doing the dirty work.
He’s been flagrant-hacked a few times, refs don’t give a shit, teammates not standing up for him. I hope he stays healthy. We need you Swipa in a few years, hopefully.
Fox’s numbers are maybe inflated by Walton’s inability to coach. I would love to see more playmaking of Haliburton during 4th quarters.
With that being said, it’s wonderful to know that Fox has proven to be clucth and able to endure a high usage rate. Now it’s FO’s job to build a better roster around him and get a good coach. I said this during off season, Nate McMillan would be a good fit for this team. Good for Atlanta.
Totally agree. Fox has gotten better and better.
The Kings looked their best when Fox and Haliburton were sharing running the O. A great combo back n forth.
Now if the team contributed more offensively, maybe he could conserve of his offensive energy and transfer that to his defense. Then they would be moving in a better direction.
I think Fox is a good 1 on 1 defender, awful when he has to fight opposition’s screens. To your point, maybe he lacks energy. In general, our small lineup (Barnes at the center spot) defends decently because everybody can switch, but allowing too many offensive rebounds is a problem.
this is what i’m thinking as well. He seems to have the tools and shows it in spurts, but he probably is worn out from carrying the offense so much. Not an excuse, but it’s a probably factor, Also totally agree about our small ball group and rebounding. Holmes would almost be the perfect center for that lineup, if not for the fact that he gets dominated by stronger guys
I agree with you about Holmes, even with his mighty efforts, he’s just not big enough to deal with the larger centers in the league. People can dump on Whiteside, but he bullied Porzingis in the first half and completely took him out of the game, and did it while earning less than eight percent of what Zinger is making this season.
Whiteside is as good as people who don’t watch him play think he is if he plays less than 15 minutes a games. No advanced stats to back that assertion up, but we all know it’s true because we do watch him play
I wasn’t really making a statement about how good or bad Whiteside’s game is at this stage of his career, although his Per 36 numbers are quite good. I was trying to emphasize that a center-sized center can take a significant bite out of Porzingis’ game.
Seems like something too the fact that the D is horrific overall. The system is shit obviously. Plus no accountability
Hard to tell if individual defenders are good or bad…except Buddy amd Bags.
I remember that we tried to switch evereything in the beggining of the season. At that point, all the other team had to do was to wait for a mismatch between Bagley and a good offensive player in the perimeter.
About Buddy, it drives me crazy when we play 23 seconds of good defense, than the opposing player just pump fakes and wait for Buddy to jump. It’s always a shooting foul.
Joerger had to scheme with a 2nd year Fox, Buddy for 82 games, Bagley for 62 games, Bjelly for 77 games (70 starting), etc. and somehow the team’s DRtg was 7 points better defensively and finished in the middle tier (outside the bottom 10 but albeit the bottom of the middle tier) of the NBA defensively.
Two years later and the Kings are dead last with many of the same core players. So yes, there is plenty of blame to place on the individual players but the evidence suggests something much larger is at play that falls squarely on the coaching.
Truth. Coaching/no system is the main issue.
We can all agree (Except for one dismissive little owner) that there is no coachIng in Walton. He’s lame. Hoping he’s lame duck too.
Imagine if Walton was a real coach running an actual offense instead of dribble dribble drive- p&r trash.
I don’t recall hardly any kick outs and cutting off ball for easy buckets.
Fox-whole team would kick serious ass during crunch time amd in general.
It’s interesting, as I’ve been thinking about Fox’s play this year it sort of reminded me of Bradley Beal. They play different styles but in terms of offensive output they seem to have a similar effect on their teams. Then I went to look up their RPM for the season and they were almost identical. Both of them are fantastic on offense and pretty terrible on defense. It does make me think that similarly to a guy like Devin Booker, if they can add more talent, (particularly defensive talent) Fox is actually good enough to be the engine of a winning offense. Hopefully this team we’ll eventually put together a decent roster so they can be competitive at some point.
I don’t know. Neither Beal nor Booker have seen much team success as the “engine” of the offense. Both are clearly excellent scorers (thought Beal is less efficient than you would like for a star), but they’ve needed to play next to true facilitators to really find success.
I think Fox, ultimately, needs to play with a Beal/Booker type, more than be the Beal/Booker type. He’s more the Wall/Paul/Westbrook character in the Beal/Booker stories.
(a) Fox’s offensive production and growth has been a joy to watch. He, Hali and Holmes are bright spots in another dark chapter of Kings basketball!
(b) Fox’s ref complaining has reached Luka level and is less of a joy to watch.
I really hope with a better coach, his general frustration and conflict with refs will decrease
I’d take issue with his complaining to the refs if I didn’t think it was justified
He is 5th in the league in FTAs. Ahead of guys like Luka, Mitchell, DeRozen, Randall, Butler, Harden.
It’s the NBA. He sometimes gets calls that he shouldn’t and sometimes they miss calls. Go figure.
Also, if you are so inclined (i.e. crazy), go back and watch the 1st half of the Mavs game again. He is bitching even when they call a foul! He is getting T’d up when the Kings are way ahead! It’s way beyond just when “it was justified.”
Overall it’s a minor point as I really enjoy watching him, it’s just something I have noticed it appears to be increasing. I have heard/seen plenty of Sacto fans and local media folks comment on Luka’s complaining, so anyone doing so better start being more objective about Fox!
You must have missed the Phoenix game where Jae Crowder swung at him and connected on his head. And hard at that. That was the most egregious example I can remember in awhile. But he got bumped badly early in Dallas and that’s what lead to the tech.
He’s getting hit alot. Luka complains too much, but he gets far more calls than De’Aaron is relatively to the contact received.
Yes. Those are the only times Fox complains these days. Lol!
I’d need to see the statistical evidence supporting this. Fox is behind only Giannis, Young, Zion and Embiid in FTAs.
Yeah, I have seen those missed calls and others (just like happens to everyone in the league) and I have also seen him get calls that he shouldn’t too.
It’s just the constant whining that bugs me, just as it did with DeMarcus (who was many times “justified” too).
Maybe it’s the rugby background in me (you do not talk to the ref unless you are the captain) but I’d rather see that same energy spent on yelling at teammates for blowing defensive assignments if he needs to vent some frustration than bitching at refs as if that’s why your team sucks!
I agree De’Aaron is complaining too much. It’s a horrible flaw in the NBA system. Too much chirping by everyone at the refs. I’d also like to see the Captain system as well. I’ve long believed that.
That said, he has valid complaints. I don’t expect him to be a good soldier because you do. This isn’t quite on the Cousins level yet, but it’s alot worse this year. I don’t care for the complaining, and I think it’s a chronic issue league wide. For many, many years. The early 00s Kings chirped constantly at the refs too. Which was annoying.
I just don’t expect sainthood on this one I guess. Mileage varies on this clearly.
Yeah, it’s a lot bit the sign of the times. I coach little league and we are constantly pushing back on the kids wanting to whine at every called strike.
These are 9 and 10 year olds and they are absolutely emulating what they see the pros do.
That’s why it annoys me that Fox does it with increased frequency because I watch the Kings with my 9 yo and he sees the leader of our favorite team go full Pouty McWhineface!
I am constantly telling him just to focus on doing what he does better and not externalizing his frustration onto things he can’t control.
The Crowder play was a missed call. Shit happens.
The one he got a T on yesterday was laughable. Barely any contact at all.
I think this thing is taking on a life of its own. Reminding me of the Cousins era (both on De’Aaron’s fouls and his individual impact within a team sport).
The Crowder play was arguably a flagrant 1. Personally I don’t think so, but in today’s NBA I can see that.
This isn’t quite on the Cousins level, I think it’s pretty typical of NBA players who are the top 20 or so in the league. The system is broken, the problem seems to be there isnt a real solution.
He’s 10th in the league in FTAs. And I’m well aware of the fact. That’d why I said in the article not to bother making that argument with me, because it’s clear watching these games that there are plenty more opportunities where he’s not getting the calls that other stars do.
Are you sure these other “stars” are getting every call they should be getting? Seems it would be hard to track all of that…
Yep. Here is Luka getting hit in the head too and no call:
https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1345188805158998017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1345188805158998017%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhoopshype.com%2Frumor%2F1434635%2F
It happens. Also, Luka’s level of bitching bothers me too, even when justified.
BBREF shows him at 5th in FTA and 8th in FTM. Where do you see him being 10th?
https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2021_totals.html#totals_stats::fta
Using the link you provided and filtering for Per 100 Possessions, he ranks as 10th.
NBA.com/stats
Oh I see, you are giving his per game rank, which is different than total FTA.
NBA.com has him at 5th in overall FTA, just like BBREF.
Zero evidence that is true ! He gets bad calls and bailed out just like every so called star !
Love Fox. He’s been my profile pic since day 1 at THK. And the dude’s been playing out of his mind lately. If I would have defined realistic growth from him at the beginning of the season, it would look a lot like we’re seeing these days (regular player of the week discussion). But he has to understand the refs aren’t out to get him every (or any) night. Do they miss calls, absolutely. Do I think he should get more calls, absolutely. But bickering every call, every game will earn a reputation regardless if it’s warranted or not. There are only so many NBA officials.
Yeah, I don’t mind him going after the refs but it annoys me when he misses his free throws. What’s the point of bitching about a shooting foul when you can’t hit 80 percent of your free throws?
I don’t love the complaining, but I don’t see it at a level any worse (I actually think he complains less demonstratively) than Luka, Lebron, Paul, Westbrook etc. It doesn’t seem to be hurting those guys with the officials. We may not love it, but by planting the seed I bet you come out ahead overall and get more iffy calls than the other way around. Especially as you cement yourself as an elite player consistently.
Very impressed with Fox this season. Would love to see what might happen to his baseline-to-baseline game under a really good coach and scheme.
Anybody who manages to play exceptional basketball under Coach Luke Walton should win MVP by default.
Agree. As I said prior, would love to see Fox cutting/playing off ball and kicking out on drives etc.
Why would you ever downvote this…. unless you’re Luke Walton? Who isn’t even guaranteed to get fired?
But but but eMpTy StAtZzZzZ
Random thread jack. Fox has been awesome. Would love to see the Kings resign / keep Terrance Davis, Delon Wright and even Harkkess. I also really like Metu as a backup big. Give me a full training camp with these guys and it could be interesting.
If the price is right, they’d all be assets coming off the bench, and making spot starts.
Not for my fantasy basketball team. He’s actually helping win some games there.
What’s the over/under on how long until Fox asks out of Sac? This coming offseason? Next season? When is the losing going to get to him to where he knows any winning will not happen here?
I think at the earliest with same ole Kangz progress (ie none) it’s 2023/2024 season. Backing up the Brinks truck matters.
Agreed. Pretty standard feels like about 2 years left on a star deal to start pushing your way out. It will start to go 3 years prolly soon…would take a huge pair to force way out with 5 years remaining on a deal you signed less than a year ago.
I would entertain giving up Fox this summer in exchange for the #1 pick in the draft. Not saying I would do it in a heartbeat but it would cross my mind.
I don’t think you need to worry about it. I think the chances that the Kings would trade Fox are about the same as those that some team would give up the #1 pick for him.
Greg: “miss me with the fact that he’s 10th in the NBA in FTAs”
Kings: “Please don’t boo.”
He’s so crafty in the paint. And he’s really starting to see the whole floor better.
Great game!
Badge Legend