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Sacramento Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox definitely has a lot to prove after the Kings essentially chose him over Tyrese Haliburton. With Haliburton becoming a nightly 20-10 threat with the Indiana Pacers, Fox knows that he has to elevate his game to reward the Kings' faith in him. And by and large Fox has been great for the Kings this season, averaging 25.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.1 dimes in nine games, and he has arguably made the best shot of the season after he sank a logo triple to beat the Orlando Magic.
However, Kings head coach Mike Brown is still demanding more from the 24-year old point guard.
Late in the Kings' 127-120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown opted to roll with Davion Mitchell in De'Aaron Fox' place, a sight that could be a cause of concern for Kings fans. After Fox was substituted at the 8:56 mark of the fourth quarter, Brown put back his starting point guard with a mere 2:42 left in the game and the match still tightly contested at that point.
When asked after the game about his decision, Brown said that he just decided to go with whatever was working, with or without De'Aaron Fox.
“What we're thinking going with Davion, that group was playing well. So I was gonna let that group roll. But then I felt it was time to give not only Donovan Mitchell a different look, but also us a different look offensively. I thought the combination of Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk were really good,” Brown said.
Kings coach Mike Brown talks about the 127-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, his challenge to De'Aaron Fox to be a two-way player on the court, the defense shown down the stretch and the total team performance.
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— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) November 10, 2022
Before subbing out Fox in the fourth, Donovan Mitchell had 33 points and the Kings limited him to just five points for the rest of the quarter. And for De'Aaron Fox to reach his full potential, Mike Brown knows that he has to play with better, more consistent effort on both ends of the court.
“He also has to show that he's a two-way player. […] If you could score, score for us, but you also got to guard Donovan. This is the time to show people you can do it. And he was great. […] The shots that he was hitting… it just looks so easy for him. But Fox took on the challenge in the last two, three minutes of the ballgame and helped us get the win,” Brown added.
With De'Aaron Fox gunning for an All-Star selection, he will be plenty motivated to prove that he could reach heights he's never sniffed before – starting on the defensive end.
