The Sacramento Kings will play Game 5 must-win Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. However, the health of one of their best players, D’Aaron Fox, is in question. Fox fractured a finger on his left 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 its home court to avoid having to win a Game 6 elimination on the road. This leads to questions about Fox’s availability for Game 5 and whether it will play.
De’Aaron Fox’s latest injury in Game 5: Warriors at Kings
Despite a broken finger, Fox is expected to play Game 5 against the Warriors in Sacramento. Of course, he’ll have to play through the pain, but being available should give a huge boost to the Kings who haven’t played a playoff game of this magnitude in 16 years.
What is at stake for the Sacramento Kings?
A win for the Kings would give them a better than 80% chance of winning their first round series against the Warriors. Normally, a match three to six series isn’t quite as competitive but the Warriors aren’t your regular sixth seed. They are NBA champions and have a lot more experience than the Kings.
However, they have struggled on the road this season, going only 11-30, and would have to win two playoff games on the road 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.
Full Injury Report for Sacramento
Matthew Dellavedova joins Daron Fox in injury reporting. Dellavedova has had surgery on his finger and will likely miss the remainder of the series.
The remaining schedule for the first-round series from Sacramento
There will be at least Game 5 and 6 of the Kings-Warriors series. If the series continues to reach seven full games, Game 7 will be played on Sunday in Sacramento. Here is the remaining Sacramento series schedule.
Wed, April 26 vs. Golden State 10:00 p.m. TNT
Fri, Apr 28 @ Golden State TBD
Sunday, April 30 vs. Golden State TBD
Overall, despite a broken finger on his hand, Fox is expected to play Game 5 on Tuesday against the Warriors. If he can play well through the pain, the Kings will have a good chance of taking a 3-2 series lead over the defending champion Warriors.