Preview: Kings seek third straight win vs. shorthanded Hawks

Nov 1, 2024, 7:28 AM

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 20: Domantas Sabonis #10 and Malik Monk #0 of the Sacramento Kings celebrate ag...

(Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

The alarms that were ringing during an 0-2 start to the season have been silenced following two straight wins for the Sacramento Kings.

Sacramento (2-2) coasted to a win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night to begin a four-game road trip, with action set to continue on Friday when the Kings face Trae Young and an Atlanta Hawks team that will be without several key pieces.

It’s been a rough start for the Hawks (2-3) on the injury front thus far, as they will be without former Sacramento guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (hamstring), forward De’Andre Hunter (knee), and defensive specialist Dyson Daniels (hip) against the Kings.

Of course, Sacramento fans know better than to get ahead of themselves when the Beam Team faces a shorthanded opponent. Last season, the Kings dropped several games to teams that were missing key players, an aspect of the 2023-24 campaign that loomed large as an NBA Playoff berth slipped through their fingers by just one game.

If this group wants to avoid repeating the same mistakes of last year’s squad, they can get off on the right foot early and take care of business in Atlanta on Friday night.

Too smooth, Swipa 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/5XfLkqboJy

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) October 30, 2024

Sacramento Kings @ Atlanta Hawks Info

When: 4:30 PM PDT

Where: State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA

TV: NBC Sports California

Radio: Sactown Sports 1140 AM – Coverage starts at 2:00 PM PDT on The Drive Guys

Line: Kings -6.5, O/U 237.5

Be sure to tune in right here on Sactown Sports 1140 for all of your Kings vs. Hawks coverage, beginning at 2:00 PM PST on The Drive Guys before a 4:30 PM PST tip-off from downtown Atlanta.

Take What The Defense Gives You

Sacramento’s early-season struggles in containing the three-point line have been well documented, but the Hawks are among the few teams that have done as poorly of a job defending the long ball thus far.

Atlanta enters play on Friday ranked 28th in the NBA in opponent three-point field goal percentage (38.4%), just ahead of the Kings (38.6%) and Utah (39.5%) at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Not only have the Hawks struggled to contest triples, but they have also been unable to create stops in all aspects consistently.

Head coach Quin Snyder’s group has allowed opponents to score 123.6 points per game this season (28th in the NBA) while also holding the third-worst defensive rating in the league (119.4).

After shooting 37 percent from deep during their first three games, Sacramento struggled (25%) during Tuesday’s win in Salt Lake City.

With Kevin Huerter (41.7%) looking like his old self, Domantas Sabonis looking more confident shooting the basketball (54% on 2.8 attempts per game), and other threats looming like Keegan Murray, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, expect the Kings to be aggressive from beyond the arc in this one.

Domantas Sabon-threes 🚨 pic.twitter.com/jGpWQlf2tI

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) October 30, 2024

DeMar’s World

Since the season opener, DeMar DeRozan has been as advertised–and more–for the Sacramento Kings.

The six-time All-Star forward has been an absolute bucket thus far, averaging 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game on 55 percent shooting from the field in four appearances.

DeRozan has continued to be a post threat and mid-range expert as the new-look Kings offense gets acclimated, but it’s clear that the spacing issues many had in the summer were drastically overblown.

With Sabonis continuing to run the offense out in various ways and De’Aaron Fox (7.5 assists per game) setting the table for teammates, DeRozan’s presence has loomed over opposing defenses. Sacramento will often run through the future Hall of Famer when things get stagnant, meaning that Fox and Malik Monk aren’t the lone threats to stop a run anymore.

Adding DeRozan has brought more balance to the offense and made the Kings less top-heavy and, more importantly, less dependent on needing Fox or Monk to go nuclear on a nightly basis in order to secure a win.

Dominant Domas

Is anyone really surprised at this point?

Domantas Sabonis has picked up right where he left off following back-to-back All-NBA Team nods, averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game while shooting an incredible 67 percent from the field and 54 percent from three-point range.

Sure, it’s only been four games–but Sabonis is showing an uptick in aggression on the offensive end. Typically, Sabonis will look to create for others, but through four games, he has averaged 13.3 field goal attempts per game, up from his 12.6 average during his time with the Kings.

The big man has already racked up a triple-double this season, placing him in a tie with Larry Bird for the 10th-most in NBA history (59).

Notes

Sacramento swept the two-game season series with Atlanta last season.
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Trae Young is averaging 24.3 points and 8.0 assists on 52/40/95 shooting splits (4 games, 3-1 record)
Jalen Johnson could be a matchup problem for the Kings. The 6’8 forward has been a force this season, averaging 16.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks over five games.