West Notes: Kings, Nuggets, Pelicans

Kings

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox has still been pretty good this season, but some have accused him of not being as good as usual.

But general manager Monte McNair said Fox has the Kings’ unwavering support.

“We’re all behind De’Aaron. He’s already had a couple great games recently. And you know, he’s still getting to his spots,” McNair said, via Sam Amick of The Athletic. “He’s getting his shot profile, (and) all that stuff is largely what it was last year and they just haven’t found the bottom of that net as much this year. And you know, I don’t think we have any doubt that it’s going to get back there.

“We’ve seen him, Tyrese (Haliburton) and Davion (Mitchell) playing all combinations, all three together, all combinations of two of them together. Obviously, there’s a bit of a learning curve for new guys coming in, as well as a rookie like Davion coming into the league.

“But we’ve seen a lot of positive signs with all of those combinations. And all three of those guys are great players. They’re going to continue to figure it out. We have really no worries there and (they’re) really great complements to each other on the court and off. Their personalities as well as their games complement each other very well.”

Fox, 23, is averaging 18.6 points and shooting a career-low 39 percent through 11 games. He averaged 25.2 points last season.

Nuggets

• The NBA needs to do a better job of protecting center Nikola Jokic or it could see more incidents like the one involving Jokic and Heat forward Markieff Morris, according to Sean Keeler of the Denver Post. Jokic violently shoved Morris from behind after Morris committed a hard foul. As it stands, Jokic is facing a suspension.
• Jokic told reporters he was merely trying to protect himself. “I saw him, (and) I thought it was gonna be like a ‘take’ foul,” Jokic said. “And he kind of bumped me, I was like, ‘That was a little bit …’ I think it was a dirty play. And I just needed to protect myself.”
• In case you missed it, the Nuggets could be without forward Michael Porter Jr. for some time, coach Mike Malone told reporters. Porter exited Saturday’s game vs. the Rockets with a back injury.

Pelicans

• New Orleans has lost seven straight and stands at an NBA-worst 1-10, having played all of the season without power forward Zion Williamson and part of it without small forward Brandon Ingram. Part of the struggles have been the result of a lackluster bench, wrote Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
• Still, new coach Willie Green is remaining upbeat despite all the losing. “I still believe in our guys,” Green said, via Clark. “This is just a part of it. This is part of what we have to go through as a team. No excuses. But we’re not healthy. We’re not whole. We really don’t know what we’re going to look like. But I believe this experience for guys is going to be so valuable going down the stretch.”