The Sacramento Kings will host the Atlanta Hawks at Golden 1 Center on Friday.
The Kings (21-32) will enter the contest likely down two key players in the rotation, as Ty Lawson (leg) and Omri Casspi (foot) are both listed as doubtful. Lawson, who’s MRI on Thursday revealed a strained left adductor muscle, is day-to-day, while Casspi’s foot injury has kept him out almost a full month. Sacramento picked up a big home victory, without DeMarcus Cousins, most recently after defeating the Boston Celtics. Darren Collison led the way for the Kings and finished with a team high 26 points, to go with five assists and four steals on 12-of-21 shooting. The other stand out performances came off the bench, as Matt Barnes and Willie Cauley-Stein each finished with 14 points, and the former Kentucky product slammed home a dunk of the year candidate.
Atlanta (31-22) has won three of their last four contests and are currently holding the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have seen stellar play from Tim Hardaway Jr. over the solid stretch and are coming off a strong showing from point guard Dennis Schroder. Schroder finished with 24 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals in Wednesday’s 117-106 victory over the Nuggets, while Hardaway Jr. has come away with 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 49.2 percent shooting over his last five games. Atlanta’s biggest strength is on the defensive end of the floor, where they are ranked 5th in defensive efficiency across the NBA. This will stack up against the Kings 15th ranked offensive efficiency, and a return of Cousins to the lineup.
