The road struggles continued for the Hawks, who dropped two games below .500 away from the ATL with Tuesday’s loss to Golden State. Their pivotal five-game road trip continues against the Lakers, who are playing their third game in four nights. While there are no gimmes in the NBA, playing the Lakers is about as close as it gets.
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SCHEDULING
It might seem silly to debate the playoff prospects of a team that’s currently fifth in the Eastern Conference, but the Hawks are two games ahead of Charlotte, Indiana, Chicago and Detroit. At least one of those teams isn’t going to make the cut. So the continuation of a five-game road trip looms large for a team that is just 14-16 SU away from home. Atlanta plays the second game of its trip and the first of a back-to-back on Friday against the Lakers, a team the Hawks handled easily in a 100-87 win on Dec. 4. The Hawks started the trip with an overtime loss to Golden State on Tuesday, covering the spread and improving to 14-15-1 ATS on the road this season.
The Lakers snapped an eight-game slide with a win over Brooklyn on Tuesday, but quickly fell back to their losing ways on Wednesday, falling to the Nuggets in Denver. LA wraps up a stretch of three games in four nights by hosting the Hawks on Friday, and will do so with the possibility of missing four regular contributors. Guards Kobe Bryant and Jordan Clarkson both left Wednesday’s game due to injury and are questionable to suit up against the Hawks.
INJURIES
The Hawks have moved on without backup center Tiago Splitter, who opted to have surgery on his ailing hip, a procedure that will cost him the rest of the season.
Bryant played the first half of Wednesday’s loss in Denver but shut it down after the break due to soreness in his right shoulder. The ailment also prevented him playing in the previous two games. It’s questionable he’ll take the floor on Friday. The Lakers also lost Clarkson with a strained left knee. He was to be evaluated when the team returned home from Denver. Larry Nance Jr. missed the Denver game with a sore knee and Lou Williams sat with a hamstring injury. It’s uncertain if they will be ready to go against the Hawks.
KEY MATCHUP
It was about two weeks ago when coach Byron Scott finally took the training wheels off his prized rookie and gave him the keys to the Lakers chariot. With the season winding down and the Lakers again going nowhere, many said it was about time. Let D’Angelo Russell play and see what he can do. Give the just-turned-20 point guard a chance. What Russell did Tuesday was score the most points by a Lakers rookie since the team moved to Los Angeles, netting 39, the most for any NBA first-year player this season. He hit 14 of 21 from the floor and made eight three-pointers, becoming the second rookie in league history to hit that many shots from beyond the arc. Russell has scored at least 22 points in each of his past four games, but those performances were nothing compared to the way he torched the Nets. Both coach and player credit the team’s new offensive set that was installed last week – an up-tempo scheme designed for more ball movement and less isolation.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
This isn’t the 60-win Hawks from last season and they are fighting for their playoff lives in the middle of a cramped Eastern Conference. But Atlanta has an edge on the Lakers because of its defense. The Hawks own the second-best defense in the NBA by at least one measure. They’re also excellent at both forcing turnovers and converting those into points, ranking No. 2 in the NBA in each category. Against a Lakers club that has been sloppy taking care of the basketball all season, those traits might be the difference. The Hawks nearly ended Golden State’s home win streak on Tuesday before falling in overtime. Granted, they faced a team without reigning MVP Stephen Curry and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, still it was a gritty effort from a team that has struggled to find consistency on the road.
Atlanta 103, Los Angeles 96
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