Sacramento Kings: Game 54 Preview vs Atlanta Hawks
By Tyler Watts
What to Watch for Tonight
Return of the Boogie
DeMarcus Cousins served his one-game suspension on Wednesday for accumulating 16 technical fouls this regular season. It will be interesting to see if Cousins changes his game a little tonight. He cannot afford to pick up any more technical fouls. Every two T’s he receives results in another one game suspension, so Cousins needs to cut back on his referee chatter tonight and going forward.
It is also worth mentioning that Cousins struggled against the Hawks in the first meeting. He failed to draw fouls (only three free throw attempts in the game), shot poorly from the field (6 of 16), and had four turnovers to go with his five personal fouls.
I think the suspension and Monday’s ejection will have Cousins fired up tonight and he will produce a big statistical line against the Atlanta Hawks, so tune in and watch Boogie go.
The Return of Ben McLemore
Do not look now, but Ben McLemore has played 35, 29, and 30 minutes in three of his last four games.
It has been an up and down season for Mister McLemore, to say the least. He has started 17 games this season and yet was a DNP-CD for most of the month of January. He has shot poorly for the season and his counting statistics are almost nonexistent, but 47 points in his last 4 games make it seem like McLemore is moving in a positive direction.
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Ben McLemore is still just 23 years old. I wrote a piece before the season outlining why the Kings should still believe in him and I stand by those words. It will be interesting to see if McLemore can turn his season around and prove me right or if he fades out of Coach Joerger’s rotation with the return of Omri Casspi or the emergence of Malachi Richardson. Stay tuned.
Defending a Balanced Attack
The Hawks are a dangerous team in part because they do not rely on one player to beat you. They spread the ball around and have a multitude of players who can get the job done. All-Star Paul Millsap and Dennis Schroder both average over 17 points a game, but three other players are in double figures and the bench is deep with players who can chip in.
The Kings will need to be on their toes defensively. They looked great defensively against the Celtics on Wednesday and that propelled them to victory, so let us hope they are up to the task tonight against the Hawks.