Will Sacramento's star and best scorer De'Aaron Fox play tonight against Golden State? On Monday the news was that he'd broken a bone in a finger on his shooting hand and was listed as doubtful. Fox on the other hand said he was determined to play. He said it again after practice on Tuesday, having been able to shoot and dribble.
Players however don't decide if they play, and there's been no word I've seen from his coach or the med staff, if they might be worried that re-injuring it could risk more serious damage (doctors that media members have consulted don't seem to think so.) But while there's always the possibility that the finger swells up overnight, or the remote possibility that this is a mind game being played, I expect he will play. It's the playoffs.
How effective Fox can be in this fifth game is an important question. But it's not everything. There's no reason under any circumstances for the Warriors to get overconfident. The coaches will have to prepare for the Kings with and without Fox, and the players will have to execute the game plan. The Dubs will still have an occasion to rise to.
And a lot of people will be watching. The Warriors-Kings series has become the audience favorite of the first round. This is the first Western Conference playoffs in which all four California teams were playing. One of them (the Clippers) lost their series to the Phoenix Suns, and one more (either the Dubs or the Kings) is destined to be gone by the end of the first round. The Lakers look like they have the number of the chaotic Grizzlies, a team as presently constituted that shouldn't even be allowed in the league, and so the Lakers are likely to win that series with their next game. Then no matter what happens in San Francisco or Sacramento, there will be another California-on-California team round, as the winner of the Warriors series will almost certainly face the Lakers.
As a result of Tuesday games, Phoenix and Denver, both media favorites to win the West, will face off in the second round. In the East, it does not look like one of the three strongest teams, the Bucks, are going to make it out of the first round. That leaves Philadelphia, who swept their first round, and Boston--even though they're just up 3 games to 2 over Atlanta, it's hard to see them not winning the series. The Knicks and the Heat also look likely to survive the first round.
It may not count as much of a perspective on the Warriors series, but it is is worth noting that the first round--usually the easiest for the top teams--has only one sweep, and that one in the East.
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