Bogdan Bogdanovic's return and 2 other X-factors as Hawks visit Kings

The Atlanta Hawks are 0-1 on their four-game road trip after a tough, 114-110 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. They will get no time to dwell on it with the Sacramento Kings on deck Monday.

Sacramento has won two of their last three games entering the contest and they beat the Hawks 123-115 in their first meeting of the season on November 1.

The Hawks had won two straight before their loss to the Blazers.

Hawks injury report looking good

They can go into their tilt with the Kings with the added confidence of getting healthier. The Hawks’ latest injury report revealed arguably the best news of the season. They have already gotten several players back. 

But their gameday report notably left off Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kobe Bufkin, seemingly setting the stage for both to return for Monday’s contest.

Bogdanovic has not played since the Hawks’ season opener. He had a great summer, winning a bronze medal with Serbia in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. They have surely missed his three-point shooting.

Bogdanovic shot 37.4% from deep in 2023-24 and 40.6% the season before that. 

The Hawks rank 18th in attempts and 20th in three-point efficiency coming into their matchup with the Kings.

Vit Krejci’s listing is purely precautionary after he returned from an extended absence versus the Blazer, per “Locked On Hawks” host Brad Rowland, who also notes it “makes sense” to stagger Krejci and De’Andre Hunter’s availability.

Hunter sat out the Hawks’ loss to Portland.

Cody Zeller remains out but that is because there are no plans for him to be part of the team for the duration of the season.

Getting Kobe Bufkin up to speed

Bufkin was poised to assume a role as Trae Young’s top backup. But a shoulder injury has essentially sidelined him since the summer. He participated in the preseason but has not suited up since.

Bufkin was the No. 15 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.

He appeared in 17 games with the Hawks as a rookie. Getting him back on the court and into the flow of things is key. The Hawks already bailed on AJ Griffin, their first-round pick in 2022.

Fortunately, 2024 rookie No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher’s two-way skill set has already been evident and his physical profile suggests even greater things to come once he fills out. But getting Bufkin back and running would go a long way to changing his current trajectory.

It would also help issues with sorting through who should back up Young.

The Hawks can platoon it with Dyson Daniels sliding over or the recently returned Krejci operating as a point forward when Jalen Johnson is not doing so with the starters. 

They have relied on Keaton Wallace to get the job done, and he has performed admirably. But Bufkin has a much higher ceiling and could offer the Hawks a perfect complementary piece between Daniels and Young.

Hawks’ back-to-back losing streak

The Hawks are looking to reverse some recent history in this game. They enter 0-3 on the second night of back-to-backs this season.

They lost those games to the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Washington Wizards. Only Boston (11-3) has a better record than the Kings (8-6) from that group. The Hawks are also 2-4 on the road this season.

Their player availability could also be affected by the back-to-back.

That could make the losing streak much more difficult to snap than it would otherwise be. But the Hawks have already pulled up one stunning upset this season, beating the Cs in Boston.