Starting Lineups Revealed For Tonight's Hawks-Kings Matchup

The race for the playoffs is in high gear across the NBA and while tonight's matchup between the Hawks and the Kings is not neccessarily on everyone's radar, it holds great significance to Atlanta.

The game tonight is getting closer to tipping off and here are the starters for both teams:

Hawks

G- Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G- CJ McCollum

F-Mouhamed Gueye

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Jock Landale

Kings

G- Devin Carter

G- Nique Clifford

F- DeMar DeRozan

F- Precious Achuwa

C- Maxime Raynaud

Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, and Jonathan Kuminga are out tonight for the Hawks. Behind Landale, either Mouahamed Gueye and/or Christian Koloko could see minutes as the backup.

The bench unit for the Hawks is going to consist of Gueye, Corey Kispert, Gabe Vincent, and any of Keaton Wallace, Buddy Hield, or Asa Newell.

How can Atlanta overcome some absences?

The Kings have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this entire season, but the Hawks are going to be pretty shorthanded tonight.

Daniels is the Hawks best perimeter defender and one of the best ball handlers that they have. While there are steps to be taken when it comes to three point shooting, Daniels has become an underrated offensive player with the amount of things that he can do.

Okongwu did not have his best game last night against the Celtics, but his ability to stretch the floor, as well as pass out of the post is something that Landale does not quite possess, though he is a solid shooter. The biggest difference between Landale and Okongwu is defense. Okongwu makes the Hawks a much better defense and while the Kings are not an offensive juggernaut, players like DeMar DeRozan and Maxime Raynaud could give the Hawks issues.

This game is also going to test the Hawks bench, which has been a noticeable weakness even with the recent winning streak. It might not take a lot to beat the Kings, but Atlanta is going to have to get some sort of bench output.

The Eastern Conference is a tight race from No. 5 to No. 10 and that is why this game is so important to the Hawks. They are only a half game behind the Raptors for the No. 5 seed, but only two ahead of Miami for the No. 10 seed. Every win is important and the Hawks are going to need one tonight.