Preview: Hawks look to get back on track in Sacramento

The Atlanta Hawks will play the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday as they look to rebound after a rough loss on Monday to a shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers team despite 56 points and 14 assists for Trae Young. The Hawks are now 3-7 in their last ten games, and sit as the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference entering play on Wednesday.

The Hawks enter play in this one second in the NBA averaging 113.1 points per possession offensively this season. On the contrary, they are allowing 113 points per possession defensively as well, a mark that ranks them 27th in the NBA through 36 games. Hawks President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk sounded off on the defensive struggles and inability to close out games on Tuesday morning in a what was a quite candid interview on Atlanta radio station 92.9 The Game.

The matchup with Sacramento on Wednesday should be another very winnable spot as the Kings just 24th in the NBA with a -4 net rating so far this season. The Kings are just 16-22 this season yet sit in the Western Conference play-in as of now as the No. 10 seed. Sacramento has been playing better however as winners of three of their last four. The Kings are 10-12 so far at home this season.

Injuries

Trae Young (lower back pain) and Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) are questionable for Atlanta. De’Andre Hunter (wrist) and Solomon Hill (hamstring) remain out.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Gorgui Dieng, John Collins, and Jalen Johnson are all in the league health and safety protocols, and are out for Wednesday’s game barring late changes.

Sacramento is on a back-to-back and has not yet released a fresh injury report as of Wednesday morning. The Kings were without Richaun Holmes and Chimezie Metu due to health and safety protocols on Tuesday vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Line

The Hawks come in as 1-point underdogs vs. the Kings as of early Wednesday morning, for those who may be interested. Atlanta has covered just three times in their last ten games. The Hawks are 7-12 vs. the spread on the road this season.

Game Info

Game Date & Time: Wed. Jan. 5, 10 pm ET

Location: Golden 1 Center

TV: BSSE, League Pass (out of market)

Radio: 92.9 The Game

Streaming: Bally Sports App, League Pass (out of market)