After a nice homestand, the Hawks hit the road, traveling to California to take on the best, followed by the worst the Western Conference has to offer. After getting up to take on Golden State, it’ll be important for the Hawks to not have any letdown against the lowly Lakers.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Hawks hit the road where they’re just 13-15-1 ATS overall, but they’ll head west having won two straight games after snapping a three game losing streak.
Alternatively, the Lakers are 12-14 ATS at home and have eight straight losses including falling back-to-back against the closing pointspread.
WHEN THE ATLANTA HAWKS ARE ON OFFENSE
Offensively, the Hawks are an average team, scoring 102.2 PPG, but they’re a top-10 shooting team from the floor in sinking 45.8 percent of their field goals.
You can count on a big offensive day from Atlanta against a Lakers’ team giving up 107.2 PPG and allowing the opposition to shoot 47.2 percent from the floor.
If the Hawks come out flat early in this game—due to a bit of a letdown after taking on the Warriors—don’t look for the Lakers to be able to keep Atlanta down long. Take advantage of the skewed spread. After all, Los Angeles has given up at least 112 points in five of its last six games. The only exception was 108 scored by Milwaukee.
For the Hawks, count on forward Paul Millsap and center Al Horford to control the inside. The duo combines for 15.8 RPG and averages 17.5 and 15.4 PPG respectively.
In the backcourt, Jeff Teague is another Hawk player averaging north of 15 PPG. He’s also tops in assists with 5.6 per game and gives the team a shooter on the outside, shooting over 40 percent from three point range.
WHEN THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS ARE ON OFFENSE
The Lakers will have to contend with a Hawks defense ranked No. 7 in both PPG allowed and field goal percentage against.
Atlanta is allowing less than 100 PPG and beat Charlotte 87-76 in their last game, holding the Hornets to just 33 percent shooting from the floor and 21.9 percent behind the arc.
While scoring just 97.5 PPG and shooting just 41.4 percent from the floor overall, the Lakers have seen an uptick in offensive performance. Before dropping their last game 112-95 to Memphis, the Lakers had scored at least 100 in five straight games, topping 110 all but one time.
Kobe Bryant is still the team’s leading scorer with 17.1 PPG, but he’s no longer the player to take a team on his shoulders.
Guard Jordan Clarkson is second on the team in scoring with 15.6 PPG. He scored just eight in the team’s latest loss, but when the offense was soaring he was on fire with at least 20 points in four of five games, scoring 15 in the other.
Keep an eye on Clarkson to see if he bounces back early. He managed to shoot just 4-for-16 against Memphis. If he’s struggling to find the hoop again on Friday, fade the Lakers and do it repeatedly.
Of course, other important players to watch include fellow 2014 draft pick Julius Randle and 2015 first rounder D’Angelo Russell. Russell has scored 22-points in back-to-back games while Randle is an important cog inside, particularly if Bryant is out or used sparingly. He’s had five double-doubles in his last eight games.
BETTING TRENDS AND MATCHUPS
The improved offense in Los Angeles hasn’t yielded many wins, but the Lakers were doing well ATS until late. Over their last four basketball games, they’ve covered the spread just one time.
Meanwhile, Atlanta has covered the spread in back-to-back games, but prior to that was just 1-5 in their previous six games ATS.
For those looking to play on the total, count on the improvements the Lakers have made defensively to continue. Over their last six games, the over has paid out four times. On the flipside, the Hawks’ defense is good and the over/under boils down to how the Lakers’ respond. The under has paid out in three straight games for Atlanta.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers is slated for Friday, March 4, 2016, at 10:30 p.m. ET at the Staples Center. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
