The San Antonio Spurs seems to have steadied the ship after losing two straight games as they recorded two straight wins after getting one against the New Orleans Pelicans. Huge part of the second win is the return of De’Aaron Fox who played his first game of the season.
Fox joined the Spurs from the Sacramento Kings last February and played 17 games in total before getting shutdown early in March to repair a tendon damage in his finger. He spent the whole offseason focusing on his recovery and the organization was very careful about him.
That meticulousness paid off as the one-time Clutch Player of the Year debut in the most exciting way with his 24 points on 64 percent shooting. He also had three assists and one steal in almost 31 minutes.
He was not only the topscorer of the team. He also provided clutch baskets, like has been known for, to put away the pesky Pelicans. He hit a lay-up with 29 seconds remaining to stretch their lead to 124-119 and then followed it up with two free throws to ice the game.
Coach Mitchell Johnson praised the one-time All-Star for his leadership.
“He’s dynamic,” Johnson said. “He’s done it plenty of times and it’s good to have him back on the court and hopefully we can just continue to build.”
De’Aaron Fox talks clutch shot, health
Fox delivered what was expected of him and to him, it is his way of saying that he still got game.
“I mean, I’m good at basketball,” he said when asked by courtside reporter about his last made field goal.
“So, you can still have rust and be able to do that.”
The goal for him now is to stay healthy. He can’t go back to the injured bay after a stellar debut just like what happened to Phoenix Suns’ Jalen Green. How does he feel right now?
Fox said he is closely coordinating with the team’s experts.
“For me, as a player and as a competitor, obviously I want to get out there,” he said.
“But I’m listening to (the medical staff) and they have the best interest for me because obviously I signed a contract to be here long term, so they want to protect the asset and make sure the asset is ready when I’m out there. So, for me, it was just trusting that, trusting the process, and I feel like we did a great job this summer and up in the early parts of the season.”
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