Hawks (6-8) vs Kings (8-6) Recap and reaction

Kings vs Hawks

This game isn't super flashy on paper it's between teams that for a large part of the last 15 seasons have struggled seeing anything past regular season success, especially the Kings,  but both of these teams are in kind of similar places as franchises. The Kings made a trade to try and see if they could improve their position in the West, similar to how Atlanta did with Dejounte Murray three seasons ago. Both have their franchise point guard that knows how to run their offense and they're both trying to find ways to improve on defense. The Kings so far are in a dogfight to try and get into the playoffs, while the Hawks are just seeing what they have with their team so far this season. Let's dive into the recap. 

Recap

Both teams would be without some key players in this one. For the Kings they were without Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, and the Hawks would be without Jalen Johnson. The Kings opened with a starting lineup of DeAaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Alex Len, Keegan Murray, and Trey Lyles. The Hawks would start Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Garrison Matthews, Zaccharie Risacher, and Clint Capella. The Hawks got out to a fast start and history says this game should be really high scoring. Both teams give up most and 2nd most threes per game so far this season and are among the league leaders in pace. The Hawks still feel like they are figuring everything out, but a main reason why they haven't been great this year has the do with Trae Young. Young is averaging 24 points a game on some very poor efficient, 38.5%/34% splits, not great. He' shooting under 40% on floater as well this year, a shot that has been weapon for him. However, Atlanta has done a good job of placing shooting and defenders around him. Dyson Daniels is off to great start this year. He's the leading candidate for defensive player of the year and leads the league in steals with almost 4 a game. He's been fantastic on that end of the floor for the Hawks. He was a key trade piece the Hawks wanted from the Pelicans in the Dejounte Murray trade in the offseason. The matchup between him and DeAaron Fox was a fun one. Fox has been on the biggest heater of the season so far. He put in 60 points against the Timberwolves last Friday and then followed that up with 49 points against the Jazz Saturday. He's been unbelievable this season and is shooting close to 60% on 2s this year and shooting 68% on floaters. He's been great in the pick and roll and has been unbelievable for the Kings so far. It's unfortunate that Sabonis and DeRozan were out in this one. I wanted to see how the chemistry between them and Fox has faired so far. I would assume that the minute staggering between the DeRozan and Fox would happen, but both have been pretty good at closing out games for the Kings this year. The first quarter started out quick for the Hawks, Young didn't score a bunch, but he was setting up everyone for some easy layups, dunks, and threes. The Kings however, struggled only making 1 of their first 7 shots. Daniels really defended Fox well and forced others to make plays in the first quarter. The Hawks also brought in Deandre Hunter and Boban Bogdanovic off the bench. The lineup combinations the Hawks can have the length and scoring on the floor all at one time is really impressive and can give them a much needed lift. The game tonight was only the second one so far for Bogdanovic this season as he comes back from injury. However, the Kings shooting behind Keon Ellis got them back into the game had them down 32-31 at the end of the first quarter after being down 22-6 at one point. The Kings movement and offensive has been one of the best over the last couple of season. Mike Brown comes from the Steve Kerr coaching tree and you can see the sets he steals from him. The Kings move a ton on offense and having Sabonis facilitate handoffs and zooms is really fun to watch. The Kings run the most handoffs in the league. Even if Sabonis doesn't give it to the guy they keep cutting and moving, or will screen for someone to get them open. When they move it's really pretty to watch. They're currently ranked 6th in offense so far this year. They also do a lot of splits actions as well and play through the post as times. Keon Ellis had an unbelievable first half. He made 6 threes and was able to keep the Kings ahead before a couple of turnovers saw the Hawks get out in transition and get some easy baskets. A play that was successful for Atlanta was using Daniels as a screener for Young. Teams typically put a lesser defender on Daniels because of his inability to shoot and often times Atlanta likes to use him in pick and rolls with Young. Young was able to make the right play and Hawks were only down 66-64 going into halftime. Fox had 14 points and Ellis had 18 on 6 made threes. Risacher had 11 points, Hunter had 13 off the bench, and Trae Young had 11 assists in the first half. This game also gave me the chance to see Zaccharie Risacher, the 1st overall pick in this years NBA draft. The rookie was off to a slow start, in the beginning of the season, but has really found his footing. He's a great cutter, and has found his shooting stroke, he can really defend as well. His development will be really run to see. I don't think he'll be the best player from this draft class, but certainly top 5 is more than possible in the future. His size combined with his shooting is special for 19 years old. Him and Daniels on the wings could also cause a lot of havoc for teams as well. The third quarter was very back and forth. Keon Ellis decided that it was his game as he hit 3 more threes to push his total to 9. The Kings overall really put pressure on the Hawks defense with how much they cut and move in the half court. the Kings however made some critical turnovers again that saw the Hawks get back in it.  The back and forth quarter ended with the Kings leading 93-89. Early in the fourth quarter Keegan Murray picked up his 5th foul, to which he argued, something very rare for him. he is usually keeps a calm demeanor for the Kings since he got to Sacramento. Moments later he picked up his 6th foul and was disqualified from the game with 9 minutes left in the game. Murray is a critical piece for the Kings both on offense and defense. He usually takes on other teams best matchups and is a really good shooter, even if the numbers haven't shown it so far this season. His past record speaks for itself. He's started to develop his offensive game more as well. He's looking better on drives to the basket and hitting some more shots inside the paint. His development into something more than just a shooter and more into a scorer will be crucial if the Kings want to maximize their window of success. The next step for him will be becoming more in the 5-14 ft range. The 4th quarter was overall very sloppy for both teams. The Kings set a bunch of moving screens and Hawks could not take any type of advantage on these turnovers. The final 4 minutes was pretty fun to watch though. DeAaron Fox and Trae Young started to show why they are two of the best in the NBA at closing out games. The Kings ran a lot of horns actions for Fox to try and get downhill. Dyson Daniels defended him for most of the quarter. The best trait he has is probably his ability to get over screens. He is impossible to screen and makes the ball handler super uncomfortable when they try to get him on their hip. This is how he's able to get a lot of his steals. After a Deandre Hunter three and Keon Ellis free throw the Hawks lead 106-104 with just over two minutes left. A Clint Capella putback took the lead to 108-104 for the Hawks. Fox then hit a tough fadeaway on Daniels to make it 108-106. A Capella free throw made it 109-106. The Kings again ran a horns action for Fox and Keon Ellis was fouled on the roll. He made both free throws and the Kings were able to get a stop at the other end of the floor with about 10 seconds left. Fox dribbled down and was stripped by Daniels while going into his shot. based on review it could've been a foul, but nonetheless it was an incredible play from Daniels to seal the 109-108 victory for the Hawks. Fox had 28 points on 11/23 shooting and Ellis had a career-high 33 points on career-high 9 made threes. Deandre Hunter had 24 points off the bench to lead the Hawks, Risacher had 18 points and Trae Young tallied 19 total assists a league-high so far this season.  The win puts the Hawks at 7-8 while the lost moves the Kings at 8-7. 

Reaction 

Wow what a fun game. Lots of interesting games between Mike Brown and Quin Snyder, two of the best offensive minds in the NBA. Lived up to what I wanted from it and it was awesome to see Fox and Daniels battle it out all night. For the Hawks, they're exactly what I thought they were. They have an elite passing point guard with space and shooting around him and that can be extremely challenging to guard for other teams. However, this comes with how terrible they are on defense. They have a lot of good wing defenders in Hunter, Risacher, and Daniels, but the rest of the team really struggles. They don't rebound well and they don't get back in transition, which are two problems they have remained constant while Trae Young has been there. Risacher looks like a legit player for them. I think getting some more off the dribble juice will pair well next to Young. Jalen Johnson is also a very real player, even though he didn't play in this one. The Hawks have some very good pieces. I think potentially upgrading the center position or have Onyeka Ogwumike play a little bit more, I think he has earned it, and Larry Nance is fun to have around. Hawks are fun, might not go very far, but fun nonetheless. 

For the Kings, this feels like a game that stealing it would feel huge down the line come playoff time. The west is unbelievably tough and every loss  moves you farther and farther away from having a decent chance at the playoffs. The Kings right now at 8-7 are in the 10th position and on the play-in in the Western Conference, while the Hawks are 7-8 and are in the 5th seed in the East. DeAaron Fox is legit and the offense with him, Sabonis, and DeRozan I think is good. They're top 5 in offensive rating, but defense is still outside the top 15. I think this is a good team, but the defense has to sure up and the offense I think has to be top 3 if they want to make some noise in the West. Overall still a very good team when Fox is playing like this.