The Kings and Hawks are two teams with playoff aspirations, making their regular season matchup exciting from an overall perspective. Here are five things you need to know to prepare for tonight’s game between the Hawks and Kings in Sacramento (10pm ET, NBA League Pass).

De’Aaron Fox is on fire: Fox’s scoring average has risen to 28.9 points per game so far in 2024-2025. How did he do that? Achieving 109 points over two matches certainly helps. Fox scored 60 in an overtime loss to Minnesota on Friday, but the next night he scored 49 in a win over the Jazz. Can Fox reach 40 for the third game in a row?

The rise of Dyson Daniels: When you have 44 steals in 12 games, you’re going to draw attention (and probably also draw the assignment of shadowing Fox on the court). That’s what Daniels has done in his first season with the Hawks. However, he also scored some points, which was not so strong before. Daniels also recently had 20-point games against the Celtics and Wizards.

An important opportunity for both teams: The Kings are 8-6, while the Hawks fall to 6-8 after a tough loss Sunday in Portland. Being around .500 isn’t bad early in the season, but winning these types of games is important to reach the Play-In. The stakes may not yet be sky-high, but this is a game that both teams believe they can win.

Will the Kings come up short? Sacramento will be without star forward DeMar DeRozan (lower back) for the second straight game, but will have big man Domantas Sabonis back in the lineup after missing the last game against Utah. These two are the only Kings players aside from Fox to average over 20 points per game. While Fox has proven he can score in bunches, he will welcome the help if one or both teammates return.

Trae Young has the potential for a big game: When we talk about players who can score 40, it’s hard to ignore Young. Although he has yet to score 38 points this season, he has scored at least 35 three times. He dropped 40 points in four games last season, and he could do that again. It’s possible we see Fox and Young trading buckets all night long.