Sacramento Kings at Atlanta Hawks Preview
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Preview
Long gone are the days of 'The Greatest Show on Court' in Sacramento. Those weird and wild teams of the early 2000s are a distant memory, and so are the playoffs. No other team in the NBA has a longer postseason drought than the Kings.
To be fair, Sacramento's front office remains intent on making a blockbuster trade before the February 10 deadline in hopes of propelling the squad into the playoffs. Thanks to the Kings organization's aggressive trade talks, it has resulted in something of a bidding war between them and Atlanta's front office over players like Ben Simmons.
Both teams are near the bottom of their respective conferences. For now, the Kings rely on De'Aaron Fox to drive their fast-paced offense. Additionally, Buddy Hield's outside shooting and Tyrese Halliburton's promise as a young player are enough to spoil the night of any opposing team.
While the Kings have lost nine of their last ten games, the Hawks have won four consecutive games. During that time, Trae Young has averaged 31.3 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and snagged the Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award.
The Hawks still have plenty of work to do if they are going to climb back into the playoffs. However, they are showing signs of life. In addition to their defensive effort being visibly improved, their defensive rating has jumped up from 113.8 (28th in the league) to 109.8 (15th in the league). If they can get their defense into the top-ten range, they will be a contender again.
Injury Report
Since the Kings just lost (in epic fashion) last night, we are still awaiting an official injury report. However, we know that De'Aaron Fox, Terence Davis, and Chimezie Davis have been listed as day-to-day.
The Hawks injury report lists Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee soreness) as probable. Additionally, De’Andre Hunter (low back discomfort) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (non-COVID illness) are questionable.
Odds
SI Sportsbook lists the Hawks as 7.5-point favorites, and the over/under is set at 233.5. Like the Hawks, I've been on a roll lately. I think the Hawks win streak continues tonight. However, I am less confident that they cover the spread. Either way, it will be fun. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.
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