Sean Barnard gives his breakdown and pick for the Sacramento Kings vs. Atlanta Hawks NBA Saturday night matchup.<\/p>\n
Five games of action will be tipping off across today\u2019s NBA slate. Starting at 7:40 p.m. ET, the Sacramento Kings will be taking on the Atlanta Hawks. <\/p>\n
This is the second and final matchup between these two cross-conference opponents this season. The first game took place on November 12th and resulted in a 133-100 Hawks win. Plenty has changed for both teams since this post, and they arrive with different outlooks for the remainder of the year. <\/p>\n
Looking at the odds for tonight, the Hawks are 15.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook.<\/a> The Kings hold +650 odds of winning outright, with the game total set at 236.5 points.<\/p>\n Kings vs. Hawks preview<\/p>\n It has been a nightmare season for the Sacramento Kings, with their .257 winning percentage the organization\u2019s worst since the 2008-09 season. They have fallen to 15th place in the Western Conference with a 19-55 record overall. Sacramento is coming off back-to-back losses, but has actually won five of its last 10. On the season, the Kings have gone 30-44 against the spread, and the game total is 38-36 to the over\/under.<\/p>\n Injuries have hit the Kings hard this year. Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Russell Westbrook, Keegan Murray, and De\u2019Andre Hunter each remain sidelined. Of the available players, DeMar DeRozan headlines the production with 18.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game. Malik Monk adds 12.7 points and 3.0 assists, while rookie Maxime Raynaud has shown some signs of promise with overall averages of 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds. Daeqwon Plowdin, Devin Carter, Precious Achiuwa, and Nique Clifford also play notable roles. <\/p>\n Doug Christie\u2019s squad is averaging 110.8 points per game, which ranks 28th in the league. Sacramento also ranks 28th in offensive rating, 18th in field goal percentage, and 29th in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 121.8 points per game against the Kings, which ranks 28th in the league. Sacramento also ranks 28th in defensive rating, 29th in opponent field goal percentage, and 29th in opponent three-point percentage.<\/p>\n The Atlanta Hawks have been on a tear in the second half of the season. They hold a 41-33 overall record and have climbed to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. They have won 14 of their last 16 games, but have just a half-game lead above the 76ers for that 6-seed, and there are four teams within two games of Atlanta. On the season, the Hawks have gone 40-34 against the spread, and the game total is 37-37 to the over\/under.<\/p>\n Joanthan Kuminga and Onyeka Okongwu will miss tonight\u2019s game, while Dyson Daniels, Jock Landale, and Asa Newell are each questionable. Jalen Johnson headlines the production for the Hawks, posting averages of 22.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has benefited from playing with some additional freedom on this Hawks team, adding 20.4 points and 3.7 assists per game. CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert each also play important roles.<\/p>\n As a team, the Hawks are scoring 118.2 points per game, which ranks seventh in the league. They also rank 14th in offensive rating, 13th in field-goal percentage and sixth in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 116.5 points per game against the Hawks, which ranks 17th in the league. Atlanta also ranks 10th in defensive rating, 18th in opponent field-goal percentage and 15th in opponent three-point percentage.<\/p>\n Kings vs. Hawks prediction, pick<\/p>\n These are two teams trending in opposite directions, so expect this to be put on full display tonight. Even with the Kings showing some signs of life, they lack the necessary talent to compete with the top tier of NBA teams and the Hawks have played themselves into this category. Atlanta has won 14 of its last 16, covering in 13 of these games.<\/p>\n The Hawks cruised to a 133-100 win in the first matchup between these two teams. Atlanta led from wire-to-wire, stretching the lead to as many as 44 points. The Hawks also won the rebounding advantage 45-35 and tallied 42 assists on 49 made shots. Sacramento\u2019s outlook has only gotten worse since this time, so expect the same flaws to show face.<\/p>\n Atlanta is 19-11 against the spread in non-conference matchups this year. The team also has won each of its last 11 games at State Farm Arena, and the favorite has covered in each of the last 13 games between the Kings and Hawks in Atlanta\u2019s home arena. The Kings have lost each of their last 11 night games against Eastern Conference opponents with winning records and failed to cover in their last six games on the road against Hawks teams with a winning record.<\/p>\n The Hawks are playing the second half of a back-to-back after losing to the Celtics last night. Expect this matchup to be viewed as a get-right spot and for there to be a hunger on this Atlanta roster after a rare loss compared to what has become the norm.<\/p>\n 15.5 points is a large spread, but one worth playing given the context of these teams. Atlanta is 5-2 against the spread when favored by 10.5-points or greater this year. Expect a focused effort from the Hawks as a tune-up game for Monday and for them to put this game out of reach early. There is no true basketball advantage you can point to on this Kings team, and the organization will be content limping to the finish line with next year as the focus. The Hawks blew out this Kings team by 33 points and have played much better basketball of late. Expect this game to get ugly and for the matchup to comfortably clear the 15.5-point spread<\/a>.<\/p>\n