The Sacramento Kings will play a must-win Game 5 on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. However, the health of one of their best players, De’Aaron Fox, is in question. Fox fractured a finger on his shooting hand in the Kings’ Game 4 loss to the Warriors but played through the injury.
Now, his team is tied 2-2, and Sacramento must defend home court to avoid having to win an elimination Game 6 on the road. That leads to questions about Fox’s availability for Game 5 and whether he’ll play.
De’Aaron Fox’s latest injury status for Game 5: Warriors at Kings
Despite having a fractured finger, Fox is expected to play Game 5 against the Warriors in Sacramento. Of course, he will have to play through the pain but him being available should give a big boost to the Kings who haven’t played a playoff game of this magnitude in 16 years.
What’s at stake for the Sacramento Kings?
A win by the Kings would give them better than an 80% chance of winning their first-round series against the Warriors. Normally, a three-six series matchup isn’t quite as competitive but the Warriors are no normal sixth seed. They are the reigning NBA champions and they have much more experience than the Kings.
Still, they have struggled on the road this season, going just 11-30, and would have to win two road playoff games against the Kings to advance to the second round. If the Kings can protect their home court, they could have an easier-than-expected path to the Western Conference Finals thanks to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Sacramento’s full injury report
Joining De’Aaron Fox on the injury report is point guard Matthew Dellavedova. Dellavedova had surgery on his finger and is likely to miss the rest of the series.
Sacramento’s remaining first-round series schedule
There will be at least a Game 5 and a Game 6 of the Kings-Warriors series. If the series goes the full seven games, then Game 7 would be played on Sunday in Sacramento. Here is Sacramento’s remaining series schedule.
Wed, Apr 26 vs Golden State 10:00 PM TNT
Fri, Apr 28 @ Golden State TBD
Sun, Apr 30 vs Golden State TBD
Overall, despite having a broken finger on his shooting hand, Fox is expected to play Game 5 on Tuesday against the Warriors. If he can play well through the pain, then the Kings have a good chance of taking a 3-2 series lead over the defending champion Warriors.
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Author: Cal Durrett
April 26, 2023 | 10:44 am
