The Sacramento Kings have found life without De'Aaron Fox to be a difficult one; owners of the league's best offense last season, the Kings have mustered the second-worst offense in the NBA in their four games without Fox, scoring just 103.6 points per 100 possessions during that span. Thus, it would be of utmost importance for the Kings to get Fox back on the court as soon as possible, starting with their Friday night clash against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

However, the Kings will have to soldier on in their matchup against one of the fastest-rising teams in the league without the services of their star point guard, as he remains out due to an ankle injury, according to the latest injury report via NBA.com.

The Thunder have been playing well as of late, and they'll be entering their Friday night matchup against the Kings as favorites due to how big of a loss De'Aaron Fox is for the reigning Pacific Division champion. While Davion Mitchell is a solid defender at the point of attack, which should help in slowing down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Kings will sorely miss Fox's speed in utilizing Domantas Sabonis' handoffs as well as his rim pressure. Moreover, his incredible ability to create offense in the clutch is something the Kings will recognize the absence of.

Last season, the Kings swept the season series against the Thunder, 3-0. Gilgeous-Alexander missed two of those games, while Fox missed one. In the game Fox missed, Sacramento won 123-117 by virtue of a balanced offensive attack. During that game, all members of the Kings starting five scored in double figures, with Harrison Barnes leading the way with 29 points.

But this Thunder team isn't the OKC team we've come to know the past few years. The Thunder now have an intimidating presence in the middle in Chet Holmgren, which should make pressuring the rim a difficult task for the Kings, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to be better. Keegan Murray will have to get back on track after a few rough shooting nights for the Kings to overcome the absence of their best perimeter player.