Starting Lineups: Hawks vs Kings

The Hawks and the Kings just announced the starting lineups for this evening

Oct 30, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots the ball as Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert (24) defends in the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings are getting ready to tipoff their game tonight and the starting lineups were just announced.

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G-Zaccharie Risacher

F- Jalen Johnson

F- Larry Nance

C- Clint Capela

Kings:

G- De'Aaron Fox

G-Kevin Heurter

F- De'Mar DeRozan

F-Keegan Murray

C- Domantas Sabonis

This is an interesting change from Wednesday. Nance has been playing center for the Hawks this year and not many minutes (7 last game) at power forward.

The Hawk's offense was fine (not great) in the last game vs the Wizards, but the defense was horrible. The problem for the Hawks is that they are going against a far superior team tonight when they face the Kings. Another thing I have my eye on is the second half. If the game is close in the first half, can the Hawks find a way to finish? The fourth quarter has been horrible for the Hawks in the last three games and some of that, especially on Wednesday night, might be due to being so shorthanded and gassed late in the game.

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 7th in the NBA in PPG, 13th in FG%, 19th in 3PA, 21st in 3P%, 2nd in FTA, 20th in rebounding, and 21st in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 13th in points per 100 possessions, 14th in effective field goal percentage, 22nd in turnover percentage, 14th offensive rebounding percentage, and 1st in free throw rate.

Atlanta is 28th in PPG allowed, 18th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in 3PA allowed, and 30th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and 25th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Sacramento has one of the more consistent profiles in the NBA. They are 9th in the NBA in PPG, 3rd in field goal percentage, 20th in three point attempts, 20th in three point percentage, 16th in free throw attempts, 30th in rebounding, and 8th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Kings are 6th in points per 100 possessions, 6th in effective field goal percentage, 6th in turnover percentage, 27th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 9th in free throw rate.

The Kings have been a much better defensive team over the past few seasons and they have held their last two opponents to under 100 points. Sacramento is 10th in PPG allowed, 13th in field goal percentage allowed, 17th in three point attempts allowed, and 8th in three point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Sacramento is 9th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 12th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Trae Young was phenomenal in the first half vs Washington on Wednesday, but faded in the second half and looked like he ran out of gas. He scored 35 poitns and had 15 assists in the game vs the Wizards on Wednesday and Atlanta is going to need that type of effort from him tonight. Being so shorthanded, Atlanta is going to need a big game from Young tonight, but will he be able to deliver?

Jalen Johnson has put two solid games together in a row for the Hawks, but like I said with Young, the Hawks are going to need a big game from Johnson to try and keep this competitive. Johnson scored 21 points on Wednesday and grabbed a career high 17 rebounds. The Kings are not a strong rebounding team this season and that could bode well for Johnson on the glass.