Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
The story of the Golden State Warriors‘ Game 1 loss to the Sacramento Kings was the exceptional play of Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who scored 38 points in his playoff debut. However, the real highlight of Fox’s night against the Dubs was his effort defensively on Warriors star Stephen Curry, according to head coach Mike Brown.
Brown discussed the impressive display with reporters, after the Kings’ practice Sunday.
“Foxy was good,” Brown said via NBC Sports Kings. “We’re asking a lot of him. We’re asking him to not only try and guard Steph [Curry], which is almost an impossible task for anybody, but then to go and get it for us on the other end of the floor. Physically he has to have a toughness that’s on a level higher than anything he’s ever thought of before. But it’s also that mentally too because that’s a mental challenge for anybody and he did what he could to help us get the win.”
Mike Brown analyzes Fox’s job guarding Steph in Game 1
Curry was still able to pour in 30 points on Saturday, but Fox did everything he could to slow him down.
DeAaron Fox Discusses Defending Warriors’ Stephen Curry
Fox spoke about how difficult it can be to defend Curry, telling reporters, after the game, that JR Smith’s story from the 2015 NBA Finals was true.
“Did you all see that clip with JR Smith talking about Delly guarding Steph? That sh— real,” Fox said, laughing, via the Sacramento Kings official YouTube channel. “It’s real. I mean honestly I didn’t guard Steph the entire game, but most of the first quarter, most of the fourth quarter I guarded him. Yeah, that clip is real. Obviously, my team wants me to do things offensively. Mike [Brown] talked about it as soon as he got here, he’s not worried about what I can do offensively. He wants to see me be better defensively. And that’s something I want to take the challenge of doing. I think we’ve all seen it in spurts, but I want to do it throughout the course of a game. Playing 40 minutes and scoring 38 points is cool, but just trying to be as disruptive as possible while guarding the best player to ever shoot a basketball, not just off the catch but off the dribble. Guy’s probably one of the craftiest players to ever touch the ball. Just being able to be try and be disruptive for me is the biggest step and I think that’s kind of something that… I want to prove to myself that I can go out there and just try to hound some of the best guards in the league.”
Stephen A. Smith is ‘Worried’ About Warriors After Game 1 Loss
Again, Fox’s strong outing in Game 1 caught the eyes of many. Amongst them was ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who explained that he’s now “worried” about the Warriors, after the strong showing from the Kings.
“Guys, I’m very worried about the Golden State Warriors,” Smith said via Sunday’s “NBA Countdown” on ESPN. “I think I need to say that on national television. I think we need to pause for a second and understand what we saw last night. De’Aaron Fox is special. And I’m talking potentially Ja Morant kind of special, I’m talking about when Derrick Rose was at the height of his career. The athleticism, the speed, the quickness — he’s unguardable. They cannot guard him, OK? And this is when he was running around in the first quarter and then the fourth quarter guarding Steph Curry. Let’s take that into consideration. Let’s take into consideration Malik Monk, his former teammate at Kentucky, who was a Laker last year, who had us questioning ‘why the hell did he leave the Los Angeles Lakers?’ Excuse me, him there that’s special. Sabonis with his 16 rebounds, Trey Lyles hitting jumpshots, Harrison Barnes’ experience. Look, I’ve been talking about Golden State, you know how I feel about them. I looked at Sacramento last night and I was like ‘oh my lord, I have been asleep on these brothers, they’re something special, this is going to be a series.’”
“I’m very worried about the Golden State Warriors… De’Aaron Fox is special… He’s unguardable. They cannot guard him… I looked at Sacramento last night and I was like this, ‘Oh my lord.’ I have been asleep on these brothers.”
🗣️ Stephen A. Smith