The De'Aaron Fox dilemma is backing the Spurs' offense into a corner

The San Antonio Spurs will likely be shorthanded entering Game 3 as they face the Portland Trail Blazers on the road. With superstar Victor Wembanyama likely to still be in concussion protocol, all eyes turn to fellow all-star De'Aaron Fox.

Fox struggled in Game 2, especially when the Spurs needed him to close out the game. Normally, he is money in crunch time when his team is ahead or behind by five points, but he was nowhere to be found.

Even with the Spurs up by nine points with five minutes left. Fortunately, he can make Spurs fans forget about his poor showing with a strong performance in Game 3. Now is the time for Fox to live up to his max contract.

The Spurs need De'Aaron Fox now more than ever

When Fox was tasked with carrying a shorthanded Spurs team early this season, San Antonio's offense was surprisingly good. That was without Wembanyama as well as Stephon Castle.

As it turns out, putting the ball in Fox's hands and having three shooters surrounding him while he runs pick-and-rolls is like printing money. In fact, San Antonio had the equivalent of a top-3 offense during that 10-game span.

Equally as important, he led the Silver and Black to a road win in Portland with him dropping 37 points, and eight assists back on November 26th. This team needs that version of Fox. Without him, well, that would signal that San Antonio made a mistake giving him a max contract.

De'Aaron Fox has a lot riding on Game 3 and Game 4

To be clear, no one believes he is actually worth a max contract, but no one doubts his talent either. The whole point of bringing Fox in is for times like this. If he shows up and helps carry the offense in Wembanyama's absence, then he will have lived up to expectations.

If he doesn't and the Spurs come back to San Antonio without a win, that would not only be concerning, but it could cost them the series. It's fair to point out that this team also needs Castle and Dylan Harper to step up as well.

The luxury of having three starting-caliber point guards is the shot creation and ability to attack the paint. San Antonio only attempted 24 threes in Game 2 and connected on just seven 3-pointers. They also struggled getting to the rim.

That's not all on Fox, but San Antonio needs his scoring in the absence of Wembanyama to keep them from falling into a series hole against Portland.

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