De’Aaron Fox just unlocked the most dangerous version of the Spurs

This season hasn't gone the way many San Antonio Spurs fans expected for De'Aaron Fox. Although Fox made the all-star team, Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle have largely overshadowed him.

That has led to inconsistent results for Fox but has shown that he is a selfless player who is willing to sacrifice numbers to fit in. Even so, he has been key to several recent Spurs wins.

He spurred the team's monster 25-point comeback against the L.A. Clippers and torched the Detroit Pistons for 29 points, forming a potent one-two punch with Wemby to overwhelm them.

As the Silver and Black enter the home stretch of the regular season, they need more from Fox if they hope to have a long playoff run. Fortunately, Fox seems capable of meeting the challenge.

De’Aaron Fox unlocked a version of the Spurs nobody expected

The Silver and Black are firing on all cylinders, with their elite defense and balanced offensive attack helping them go 15-1 in their last 16 games. Hopefully, that trend will continue over the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs, but the Spurs still need Fox to elevate his game.

He's done a terrific job of picking his spots offensively, often going on five-minute scoring binges. His passing has also been terrific, as has his defense. Those two skills have helped San Antonio improve by leaps and bounds.

It wasn't that long ago that Tre Jones was the only capable passer on the Spurs; now they have Fox, Dylan Harper, and Castle. Each of whom is adept at getting into the paint, collapsing the defense, and finding open shooters on the perimeter.

Defensively, Fox has been far better than advertised. He's more than able to stay in front of his man and is able to play passing lanes without overplaying and being caught out of position.

His team defense has ensured that the Silver and Black have no weak links, making them even better on that end, but scoring is what is needed from Fox.

The Spurs need Fox to be more assertive in the playoffs

The Spurs bought Fox to be a 1A to Wembanyama, and while he is the team's second-leading scorer, his scoring is down from his peak in Sacramento. Going from averaging 26 points to 19 points per game shows that he isn't all about stats.

Nevertheless, the Spurs kind of need him to be that player if they want to go the distance in the playoffs. Having eight players average at least 10 points per game is pretty cool, historic even.

But if and when those players come up short in the postseason, everyone will be looking at Wembanyama and Fox. Fox, looking for his shot early and often, keeps teams from double- or triple-teaming Wembanyama.

In turn, Wembanyama can go off and allow Fox to continue to get easy baskets. We've yet to see that type of symbiotic relationship consistently. It hasn't mattered much with Fox dramatically raising the floor, but we need him to also raise this team's ceiling.