TITLE: Southwest Notes: Fox Embraces Smaller Role, Murphy Sits, Alexander Honored, Kidd Eyes Irving’s Late-Game Impact
SLUG: southwest-notes-fox-murphy-alexander-irving
CONTENT:
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox has drawn praise from Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra for accepting a lighter scoring load in San Antonio. Speaking before Monday’s game in Miami, Spoelstra highlighted Fox’s willingness to drop from four consecutive 25-plus-point seasons to a current average of 19.0 points per game in order to prioritize winning. “I don’t know a lot of players who want to sign up and have their scoring average drop by seven and be great with it,” Spoelstra said.
Fox told the San Antonio Express-News he expected the dip when he joined the Spurs. “Ultimately, I wanted to come and win a championship, and this is definitely the best place for it,” the guard said.
Pelicans Updates
Trey Murphy III was downgraded from questionable to out for Thursday’s road game in Detroit because of a right ankle sprain, the Pelicans announced. New Orleans dropped its third straight contest—each against a top Eastern Conference opponent—with interim head coach James Borrego lamenting the club’s defense. “Other than the run at the end of the third quarter and early fourth, we just couldn’t string enough defensive possessions together,” Borrego said after the loss.
Two-way guard Trey Alexander earned G League Player of the Week honors after averaging 36.7 points and 10.0 assists in a 3-0 stretch for the Birmingham Squadron. The second-year player has appeared in five NBA games this season.
Mavericks and Late-Game Woes
The Mavericks have played an NBA-high 42 clutch games—defined as contests within five points during the final five minutes—but have gone just 15-27. Head coach Jason Kidd believes the club’s fortunes will improve when Kyrie Irving returns in 2026/27. “The offensive end of the ball, it will help in all categories—shooting, scoring. And the biggest thing is, you have a closer. A born closer,” Kidd said.
Source: Hoops Rumors
