basketball | Wednesday, January 4, 2023 11:15 AM

Sacramento Kings vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet: Kings To See Off Hawks On Second Night Of Back-To-Back

Sam Cox

Sacramento Kings vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet: Wednesday, January 4th

The 20-16 Sacramento Kings are only narrowly favoured over the 17-20 Atlanta Hawks in northern California on Wednesday night. Sacramento enters this game on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Utah Jazz in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, while the Hawks are on the second game of a roadtrip and have lost four in a row.

Falling to the weakened Golden State Warriors represents where the Hawks are at. For the season, they are 22nd in net rating. The Dejounte Murray and Trae Young backcourt is yet to work out for either player, and there are persistent rumblings about the future of Nate McMillan.

Clint Capela is the only absentee for the road team. Sacramento has the relative mid-season luxury of a completely clean injury report. The Kings are 3-2 on the season when playing with no rest. Atlanta has gone 7-12 against teams above .500 and 6-12 on the road.

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Sacramento Kings vs Atlanta Hawks Preview
Sacramento Kings vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet

Sacramento Kings vs Atlanta Hawks Preview

Thu, Jan 05. 03:00 (UK time)

The Kings have already lit the beam 11 times this season. They have clocked some big wins on their homecourt, including seeing off the Nuggets and Jazz in their last two home games. The defence, as expected, remains subpar, but the offence around probable All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis is absolutely potent.

Atlanta has suffered this issue of being a one-way team. Moves were made to address that, but it simply has not worked. Their defence is still poor. The offence is a shambles with Young and Murray enduring inefficient seasons. John Collins has become a non-factor, and the decision to trade Kevin Huerter looms over this matchup for what it cost the Hawks to lose him and how he has aided the Kings.

These teams share similar profiles. Both foul too much, both do a good job at preventing threes, and they each like to play at pace.

Sacramento has numerous advantages too, however. They shoot a lot of threes, where the Hawks are a throwback in a limited number of outside shots and a lot of twos. Their rebounding, anchored by Sabonis, is stronger. Led by Sabonis, Fox and Harrison Barnes, they also get to the line at a good rate.

Sacramento Kings vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet

Having played an intense, fiercely competitive game last night is the biggest concern with backing the Kings to win this one. The Kings are a better-coached team with superior chemistry and who have a significant homecourt advantage.

Atlanta have not proven they can compete on the road this season. Their effort levels have been concerning throughout, and that’s going to cost them in this game. There’s great value on the hosts.