"Boys A Bitch And Everyone Can Tell Him I Said That" - De'Aaron Fox Had Quite The Response To This Preposterous Ricochet Shot From Amin Elhassan On ESPN
This right here is just the latest example of why Twitter and social media can at times be the absolute best. You want to take some unwarranted shots on a national TV show? That's all fine and good but now the players can punch right back. Whether it's a blog, or a TV segment, or a podcast, in 2020 you run the risk of saying something and then getting dunked on by the player you're talking shit about. It's best to own what you say when this shit happens because a response like what Fox got only makes you look worse in my opinion. I mean that was about as clear a ricochet shot as you'll see. It's OK to praise Ja Morant without throwing another young exciting guard under the bus and taking a shot at him.
In times like these, it's always helpful to go to the tape. The Kings played the Grizzlies four times last year and went 3-1. Here's how Fox did in those games
GM1: 22/3/4 on 61/66% shooting
GM2: 27/4/9 on 50/25% shooting
GM3: 26/2/4 on 56/66% shooting
GM4: 25/4/5 on 52/50% shooting
Call me crazy, but averaging 25/3/5 on 54/52% against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies feels pretty good. Especially when Morant averaged 18/1/6 on 47/25% in those 4 games. Obviously, Fox didn't win ROY, but let's not pretend like he isn't really good and absolutely outplayed Ja Morant head to head. It's just a weird shot to take when you actually look at how they did against each other. I could understand if Morant wiped the floor with Fox.....but it was the exact opposite.
I will say this. The 2020 season is a big year for De'Aaron Fox. He just signed the max extension this offseason, so he needs to take another leap. That's just the responsibility when you become the franchise guy. We saw what that might look like last season when he took a leap to 21/3.8/6.8 on 48% shooting, but he really needs to improve his three point shooting. Just 29% last year and 32% for his young career, that's the next step for Fox in my opinion. He's already a great playmaker, he's a ball hawk defensively, he's becoming more efficient from the floor, now it's time to expand his range. The whole winning thing is tough because of ya know...the Kangz doing Kangz things, but it's not like Morant is a lock for the playoff either. Remember, it was Morant and the Grizzlies that sneaky choked in the bubble and lost their playoff spot.
Luckily, the season is about to start so we'll actually get to see how this take plays out. Something tells me both of these guys are going to have monster seasons
