Hawks vs Kings Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Can the Hawks bounce back from their loss to Portland and find a way to defeat Sacramento?

Nov 17, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) defends Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) in the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images / Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

After losing to the Portland Trail Blazers last night, the Atlanta Hawks are back on the court tonight vs the Kings, who are going to be shorthanded tonight. Atlanta looked like it was going to cruise to a win last night, but a disastrous third quarter and 27 turnovers propelled Portland to a come-from-behind victory. The loss last night halted the momentum that Atlanta had from beating Boston and Washington in back-to-back games and now they must try to get that momentum back.

The Kings have been one of the NBA's best teams this season, but they will be without DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk tonight and possibly Domantas Sabonis (doubtful) as well. The Hawks are on a back-to-back so their injury report has yet to be revealed so this will be updated whenever that is released.

Let's preview tonight's game.

Game Preview

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 6th in the NBA in PPG, 11th in FG%, 18th in 3PA, 20th in 3P%, 3rd in FTA, 28th in turnovers, and 16th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 14th in points per 100 possessions, 15th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 7th offensive rebounding percentage, and 6th in free throw rate.

The Hawks have improved in some ways defensively, but they allow the most threes per game in the NBA and allow the highest three-point percentage in the NBA as well. There has been no consistency from night to night from this team on that end and the Hawks are usually prone to have at least one awful quarter per game (see third quarter last night).

Atlanta currently ranks 28th in PPG allowed, 16th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed, and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 22nd in points allowed per 100 possessions and 27th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Trae Young is leading this offense and he is coming off of a solid game vs Portland. Young scored 29 points and had eight assists last night vs Portland, but he was bothered by the length and athleticism of some of Portland's defense. In the last game vs the Kings, Young scored 25 points and had 12 assists. If the Hawks want to upset the Kings, Young has to outplay Fox, who has been the hottest player in the NBA through the last week.

Dyson Daniels has been one of the stories of the NBA, but he had one of his worst games of the season last night vs Portland. Daniels scored 12 points on 5-17 shooting and had a problem with turnovers. Daniels is going to be guarding Fox tonight in what should be a great matchup.

Zaccharie Risacher only played 21 minutes last night and only six minutes in the second half. He had a solid game, scoring 11 points and pulling in four rebounds, as well as playing solid defense. If De'Andre Hunter is back tonight, will Risacher start?

Hunter has missed a lot of games this year, but the Hawks are 3-0 when he plays. He scored 22 points in Friday's win vs Washington, but did not play last night vs Portland. Keep an eye on Hunter's status today.

Statistically, Jalen Johnson had a good scoring night, but he also had seven turnovers. He finished with 25 points on 10-14 shooting and he should have a favorable matchup. Johnson did not have a great game vs the Kings in their first meeting, but I expect a bounce back.

Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu were solid last night, but Okongwu struggled at times with the size that Portland had. Capela played around 20 minutes in last night's game and Okongwu played 28. If Sabonis is out, it should be an easier time for those guys to get rebounds. Larry Nance played 10 minutes last game and has shared the floor with both Capela and Okongwu.

The Hawks bench got outworked last night vs the Blazers and was outscored 58-25. That should not happen tonight with the Kings being shorthanded, but they have to get more. Okongwu had 11 points and Vit Krejci had a solid first game back, scoring eight points and dishing out three assists. Keaton Wallace, Nance, and Garrison Matthews combined for six points last night, though Wallace had some solid minutes on defense.

In the last two games, Fox has scored 60 points and 49 points. He is playing well and scoring the ball well. With so many guys out, a lot will be on Fox tonight, but Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, and Trey Lyles will be the other options for the Kings tonight. Lyles and Huerter struggled in their last game vs the Hawks.

Injury Report

For the Kings, DeRozan and Monk are out while Sabonis is doubtful.

Atlanta is playing on the second night of a back-to-back and has not released its injury report yet. Keep an eye out for that.

Odds

Currently at Fanduel Sportsbook, the Hawks are 5.5 point underdogs in Sacramento tonight. The total is set at 236.

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Clint Capela

Kings

G- De'Aaron Fox

G- Kevin Huerter

F- Doug McDermott

F- Keegan Murray

C- Trey Lyles

Additional Links:

Instant Takeaways From Atlanta's 114-110 Loss to Portland

Atlanta Hawks Can't Overcome 27 Turnovers and Poor Third Quarter in 114-110 Loss to Portland