NBA action continues on Friday night with a matchup between the Sacramento Kings (17-12, 15-12 ATS) and the Atlanta Hawks (12-18, 7-23 ATS). Sacramento is currently 5th in the Western Conference, while the Hawks are back in 12th in the East. The Kings just lost a road matchup in Portland, going down 130-113 as 8.5-point road favorites. Atlanta is also coming off a home loss, losing to the Bulls in Chicago 118-113 as 2.5-point favorites. This is the first of two matchups between these teams this season.

Kings Drop Three of Four

The Sacramento Kings are one of the better teams in the Western Conference, but recently hit a rough patch as they have lost three of their last four games. Sacramento lost home games to the Celtics and Blazers, and also dropped a game in Minnesota. Their one win in the stretch came against the surprisingly struggling Phoenix Suns. The recent losses were not due to injuries, as the Kings currently do not have any players listed on their injury report. In their last game, De’Aaron Fox had 43 points, but it was not enough to defeat the Blazers as they lost by 17.

Fox is 5th in the NBA in scoring at 30.2 PPG, while adding 6.1 APG and 4.6 RPG. He has had 20 or more points in each of the last six games, including two games where he went over 40. Fox continues to improve his outside shot, he is knocking down 3.4 threes per game on 39.6% shooting. Domantas Sabonis is a smart post player, he averages 19.4 PPG and leads the team with 12.1 RPG and 7.4 APG. He has had a double-double in his last 12 games, including four triple-doubles. The two stars are surrounded by shooters on the perimeter, Keegan Murray is the top scorer out of them with 15.8 PPG, and the two other starters are Harrison Barnes (11.7 PPG) and Kevin Huerter (10.6 PPG).

Malik Monk is a big scorer off the bench, he leads the second unit with 14.0 PPG and often stays in during crunch time. Trey Lyles gets minutes off the bench as a stretch four adding 6.1 PPG. The Kings rank 10th in the NBA in offensive efficiency.

Hawks Lost Three Straight

The Atlanta Hawks are currently near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and are fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament, but they will need to win more games to advance to the postseason. The Hawks come in as losers of their last three, going down to Miami, Memphis and Chicago. Atlanta has lost three of their last four home games, with the only win coming over the lowly Pistons. In their last game, Bogdan Bogdanovic has 22 points off the bench, and Trae Young added another 21 in the loss against the Bulls.

Trae Young is leading the team in points and assists with 28.1 PPG and 11.3 APG. He has had 10 or more assists in his last eight games, all of which were double-doubles. Young has played 40 or more minutes in each of the past three games during their losing streak. Dejounte Murray is an athletic two guard, he scores 20.2 PPG, and is an elite perimeter defender. Murray leads the team with 1.6 steals per game, and also adds 5.3 APG. De’Andre Hunter typically starts at small forward, he is another strong perimeter defender and adds 14.9 PPG on the outside, but will miss this game with an injury. Clint Capela is their big man inside, he is a rim protector adding 12.0 PPG and 10.5 RPG. The last starting spot has been a mix Saddiq Bey and Jalen Johnson.

Bogdan Bogdanovic is their big scorer off the bench, he is their third leading scorer with 17.9 PPG on the year. He could make a push for 6th man of the year, but the Hawks would likely need more team success to him to get the award. The Hawks currently rank 5th in the league in offensive efficiency, and 28th in defensive efficiency. Atlanta plays at the 5th fastest tempo in the NBA.