After falling to the Portland Trail Blazer yesterday, Atlanta continues their West Coast tour. Even getting back Trae Young from injury wasn’t enough, as Portland’s defense was stifling. The Kings, on the other hand, continue to get banged up, with Sabonis announced out for tonight's game. This could be some rough basketball with Atlanta on the second half of an away back-to-back and the Kings down two of their best players.
The Kings' issue continues to be an injury. First, it was Malik Monk, then it was Demar DeRozan, and now it’s Domantas Sabonis. This all comes on the heels of some of De’Aaron Fox’s best basketball of this career. Fox dropped 60 points in an OT loss to the Timberwolves. Despite these team setbacks, they still maintain an okay record of 8-6, putting them in 9th place in the West.
That’s obviously not going to cut it for a team with real playoff hopes this year, but despite the injuries, they have a good chance to win this one today. With Atlanta playing their second game of an away back-to-back all in the Pacific Time Zone, they’ll most likely be feeling a bit off. This could be schedule loss for Atlanta, but we’re not so confident. Considering the injuries of the Kings for tonight and Atlanta’s improved defense, we think they have an excellent shot to take this one.
The Hawks will have their work cut out, but they’re catching the Kings at the perfect time. With Sabonis, DeRozan, and Monk out, the scoring will ultimately fall to Huerter, Fox, and Murray. The problem for the Kings is that Atlanta matches up well against those guys. Dyson Daniels has been elite as a defender this year, Jalen Johnson has taken a leap, and Capela and Okongwu can punish down low. We’re slightly worried about the Trae Young matchup on to Fox, but if Dyson can avoid switching, we think they’ll be able to hide him well. We believe the Hawks will get the upset tonight!
Keegan Murray Over 8.5 Rebounds: With Sabonis out, the bulk of rebounding duties will likely fall into Murray's hands. He’s shown he can grab boards, with several games over the ten rebound mark. We like this line as the 9-board mark feels incredibly doable for him as long as he avoids foul trouble.
De’Aaron Fox Points + Rebounds + Assists 45+: Fox has been electric as of late, taking on all the scoring duties on the Kings. He’s been filling up the box score nightly, and we think he’ll do it again against a tired Hawks team. If he can come out of the gates hot scoring, this line could easily be hit by the 3rd quarter!
Dyson Daniels Steals 3+: Daniels has been a monster this year at stealing the ball. He’s had 3+ steals in the last seven games besides the last night in Portland. He has been a menace in the passing lanes and as a point-of-attack defender. With Fox giving the ball up 3.6 times a game, this could be an easy day for Dyson to have another big defensive night!