It doesn't matter because Fox finally got his place among the All-Star as a replacement for Stephen Curry. Hector doesn't hold the All-Star Game in his heart: there are no stakes, and Hector doesn't like exhibition games.
For Fox, it's a little different. After five years of struggling with the Kings, he finally sees the end of the tunnel and has remembered his main goal despite the glitter of the All-Star Game: qualify Sacramento for the playoffs.
They didn't last long in Salt Lake City. By the end of the postgame conference, they were already on a plane to California, to Sacramento.
Currently, third in the Western Conference, the Kings have never been closer to breaking their black streak, 25 games away from the regular season, and De'Aaron Fox is well aware of that.
"It was a great moment for me. I hope the next one will be when we play in the playoffs on national TV. It would be a stronger moment. »
Same logic for Hector, who remembers the goal: "I promised Foxy that he would be All-Star this season; the goal has been achieved. Now it's time to get down to business and fight body and soul to get to the playoffs. Missed would be malpractice. »
With 32 wins already on their tally at the time of the cut, more than in the previous three full seasons, it is evident that the Kings' season has been successful so far. It is necessary to confirm in the final stretch and win the ticket.
But unlike the beginning of the season, the Kings will be expected. Coach Ewing has already put everyone on guard.
"The real season starts now," he told a local newspaper. "With our current position, we have a target in the back. We are hunted now. Nobody knows what will happen because it's the first time we've been targeted."
The schedule is complex: the Blazers, Clippers, and Thunder twice to finish February. Then again, the Clippers, Wolves, and Pelicans. Clashes with New York, Phoenix, and Milwaukee followed this. The program is challenging.
But opportunities must be seized as soon as they come. The Kings beat a Portland team without Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, and Jerami Grant. We must not blame ourselves for intimidating the weak in the NBA, and Hector has understood that.
Strictly speaking, he doesn't have weak players in the NBA. Whatever we say, it's the elite who play there. Among 1000 you will be the chosen one. That's what sums up the NBA player. But no one can deny that there is a big difference in level between some. When Nurkic is not present, it is impossible to stop Hector.
A force of nature and more complete, the Mexican still made work with 18 points and 18 rebinds, all enhanced by his vision of the game and his quality of passing (10). Not to mention his thief quality (3) and rim protection (2).
7th triple-double of the season. On the season, only Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic do better.
Fox when made him a game of leader. Present in the crucial moments, he scored his 31 points when necessary. But every Kings game, one comes out of his den. This time, Terence Davis had 20 points off the bench with big baskets and 3-point missiles that buried any possible revolt.
But the next game will be one of the most incredible of the season against the Clippers. The day after the victory against the Blazers, they head to Los Angeles to face the "other" team from Los Angeles.
Paul Georges, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook are in the game. Kawhi, in great shape, is one of the best players in the entire league. Paul Georges is an excellent lieutenant who can become an MVP candidate if the conditions are right, and Westbrook is a former MVP and one who averaged two seasons of triple-double.
In great shape, this team is scary, and unfortunately for the Kings, none of them is injured, and especially Kawhi is present.
Let's start straight into the fourth quarter, and the Kings lead by 7 points (110-117). The defenses are absent tonight, and "The Klaw" is fantastic. We will have to come out with the big maneuvers to win.