Mutually assured thriving

De'Aaron Fox's bet on San Antonio paid off for him. It's paying off for the Spurs, too. Plus: Kenny Atkinson says the Cavaliers are analytically up 2-1.

Good morning. Let's basketball.

Back in March, I wrote a paean to De'Aaron Fox for having the foresight to request a trade to a non-glamour market below the Kings in the standings simply to hitch his apple wagon to Victor Wembanyama's star. It was a brilliant gambit, and it's paid off heartily: Fox, who had one playoff series under his belt in his career to that point, has a great shot at making the Finals in his first full season with the Spurs.

This isn't a one-way benefit, though: Fox is integral to San Antonio's run, and nothing showed that quite like Game 4, which the Spurs won 103-82 to tie the series.

The clearest evidence point about how much the Spurs need Fox? San Antonio had 42 turnovers in Games 1 and 2, both games that Swipa missed. They have just 27 in Games 3 and 4, both games that Fox played in. Stephon Castle has two turnovers over two games after racking up 20 in the first two contests where he was the primary ballhandler. Fox's mere presence allows Castle into a more natural flow, and allows Castle to be the best version of his 21-year-old self. Dylan Harper, the 20-year-old who will eventually (one presumes) replace Fox, was incredible in Game 1, missed Game 2 and ... has looked like a 20-year-old rookie in Games 3 and 4. If Fox weren't here, that youth and inexperience would look even more stark with the Oklahoma City pitbulls on the defensive attack.

As it stands, Fox's offensive maturity allows Castle, Harper and the rest to reserve lots of energy for defense, where the Spurs had an all-time performance on Sunday night, holding OKC to an offensive rating of 80. If not for Isaiah Hartenstein drilling push shots in the first quarter – Fox must have been having Richaun Holmes flashbacks! – this might have been a blowout from jump instead of the rout not really setting in until this Wembanyama shot.

Fox is playing good defense, too. OKC has been targeting him with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Fox keeps forcing him into help or to the left if he's on an island. He's not taking the foul bait: he only have five personal fouls over two games. And one of them was this.