The Atlanta Hawks are struggling. Injuries have hit the team hard in the past week as they now have a 3-game losing streak to their name. With Jeff Teague and Kent Bazemore dealing with problems, the starting lineup is not performing well and now they are left to try and figure out a way to gain some momentum. With the Sacramento Kings dealing with internal issues heading into this matchup, this battle of the Eastern and Western conference should be one to watch.
Atlanta might have a 14-game win streak over the Kings, but they are not playing like that right now. Coming off a loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Hawks are expecting to still be without Teague and Bazemore in the lineup due to a pair of sprained ankles. That has put increased pressure on players like Al Horford and Paul Millsap to step up and help adjust things. Horford had 18 points while Millsap had 17 against the Nets, but the Hawks committed 20 turnovers while almost no one else scored any baskets. That simply cannot happen against a talented Kings team. Atlanta is not shooting well in this stretch. They were averaging 112.0 points on 40.0 percent shoot from the 3-point line, but in the last three games those numbers have dipped to 94.5 points and 33.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Kings need a win as they deal with unwanted headlines of inter-team drama. According to ESPN.com, the Kings were forced to have a meeting as DeMarcus Cousins and head coach George Karl were reportedly not getting along. Since then the team has gone 3-0 after a 1-7 start to the season. They capped things off with a 107-101 win over the Toronto Raptors. They are now only allowing 100.7 points per game after giving up 110.6 points per game at the start of the year. Those numbers should help against a Hawks team struggling to consistently shoot the ball.
Cousins should get most of the credit for the team turn around. The center is averaging 36.3 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting. That includes going 9 of 15 from beyond the arc. His numbers pair with the positive improvements from Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo have the Kings looking like a better team.
