The Atlanta Hawks have not had a winning streak longer than two this season, but they have a chance to reverse that trend tonight when they face the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are on a losing streak heading into tonight’s matchup and are also on the second night of a back-to-back. This is a prime opportunity for Atlanta to continue to improve and get another win.
After rolling over the Lakers on Saturday night, the Hawks got Jalen Johnson, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kennard back for their game against the Clippers on Monday and the Hawks got the win, despite nearly blowing the game in the final minutes.
The Kings are a solid team on the offensive end of the floor, but they struggle to guard well. How will the Hawks attack this Sacramento team?
As tipoff gets closer, the starting lineups for both teams were just announced.
Hawks
G- Nickeil Alexander-Walker
G- Dyson Daniels
F- Zaccharie Risacher
F- Jalen Johnson
C- Kristaps Porzingis
Kings
G- Dennis Schroeder
G- Russell Westbrook
F- DeMar DeRozan
F- Precious Achuwa
C- Domantas Sabonis
Our own Rohan Raman took a deeper look at how the Hawks have fared in the advanced numbers through their first 11 games of the season:
“Outside of Vit Krejci, the Hawks’ offense was largely cold from deep. Still, Atlanta is 22nd in points, 15th in FG%, 19th on 3P%, 16th in FT%, 21st in rebounds (21st in OREB), 5th in assists and 9th in turnovers per game. They’re 23rd in offensive rating on the year. However, when they play good team basketball, it’s much easier to stomach the fact that Trae Young isn’t at the wheel.
Atlanta’s defense has been making strides and they continued to play well against the Clippers. On a per-game basis, Atlanta ranks 9th in points allowed, 7th in FG% allowed, 3rd in 3P% allowed, 26th in rebounds allowed, 11th in steals and 8th in blocks. They’re 10th in defensive rating on the year, which would be a great sign of progress if it holds up through a larger sample.
The trio of Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan haven’t been overly effective in making the Kings a good offense. They’re 21st in points per game, 11th in FG%, 11th on 3P%, 23rd in FT%, 29th in rebounds (29th in OREB), 14th in assists and 5th in turnovers per game. The advanced statistics don’t paint a great picture – they’re 24th in offensive rating.
As expected, their defense is one of the worst in the NBA. They’re 28th in points allowed, 29th in FG% allowed, 21st in 3P% allowed, 20th in rebounds allowed, 16th in steals and 27th in blocks. Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray are solid defenders, but playing three defensive liabilities in LaVine, DeRozan and Sabonis caps their ceiling as a defense. It’s why they are 27th in defensive rating.”
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