Hawks vs Lakers: Game Thread (Updated) – Xavier Henry to make first start for L.A.
By David Menze
Game Preview
The Atlanta Hawks embark on a three-game West coast road trip and will make the first stop in Tinseltown to square off with the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
Atlanta is coming off their first win of the season as they took care of the visiting Toronto Raptors in their home opener Friday night. The Hawks’ new dynamic duo of Al Horford (22 pts / 16 rebs) and Jeff Teague (17 pts / 12 asts) both posted monster double-doubles and will need to duplicate, or come close, to those numbers in order to get a win against the new-look Lakers.
Los Angeles lost their second game in a row Friday night as they fell to Mike Budenholzer’s old San Antonio team. They previously lost to the sharpshooting Golden State Warriors on Wednesday after winning the season opener against namesake rival L.A. Clippers in surprising fashion on Tuesday.
The Lakers are continuing to grow chemistry with one another and are starting to play team basketball.
Spark plug Xavier Henry will make his first start of the season for Los Angeles, replacing Nick Young (aka Swaggy P) at small forward. Henry scored a career-high 22 points in the season opening win over the Clippers, and added 14 points in the loss against the Warriors on Wednesday. He cooled off versus San Antonio, however, as the Spurs limited to just three points in 22 minutes of action — he was 0-of-6 from the field but made three of his six foul shots.
Hopefully Budenholzer got some cliff notes from Spurs head coach, and mentor, Gregg Popovich on how to slow Henry down and beat the Lakers.
Quick Facts
Who?: Atlanta Hawks vs Los Angeles Lakers
What?: East vs West Showdown (Game #3, Road Game #2)
Where?: Staples Center (Los Angeles, CA)
When?: Sunday, November 3, 2013 – 9:30 PM (ET)
How?: SportSouth HDTV / 92.9 FM “The Game”
Probable Starters
Atlanta Hawks:
PG: Jeff Teague | SG: Kyle Korver | SF: DeMarre Carroll | PF: Paul Millsap | C: Al Horford
Los Angeles Lakers:
PG: Steve Nash | SG: Steve Blake | SF: Xavier Henry | PF: Shawne Williams | C: Pau Gasol
Injury Report
Atlanta Hawks: Gustavo Ayon (right shoulder injury) and Lou Williams (right knee rehabilitation) are out.
Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant (Achilles surgery) is out.
Current Records, Streak & Hot, Lukewarm, or Cold
Records: Los Angeles Lakers (1-2) / Atlanta Hawks (1-1)
Streaks: Atlanta Hawks –> OVERALL: Won 1 | HOME: Won 1 | ROAD: Lost 1 Los Angeles Lakers –> OVERALL: Lost 2 | HOME: Lost 1 | ROAD: Lost 1
Home/Away Records: Lakers are (1-1) at home / Hawks are (0-1) on the road.
Atlanta Hawks: Lukewarm. The Hawks got their first win of the season in the home opener Friday night versus the Raptors as Al Horford (22pts & 16rebs) and Jeff Teague (17pts & 12asts) both had monster double-doubles. Both of them are going to need to duplicate those numbers on Sunday at Los Angeles in order to win.
Los Angeles Lakers: Lukewarm. The Lakers lost to Gregg Popovich and the Spurs on Friday, falling to 1-2, but they’re beginning to play like a team and are continuing to grow chemistry with one another. And boy, do they like to run the floor.
Season/Past Season Series
The Hawks begin a three-game road trip with a matchup against the Lakers at STAPLES Center. The clubs will close out the two-game season series at Philips Arena on 12/16. The teams split the 2012-13 season series 1-1, with both clubs winning at home. The Hawks won the last meeting 96-92 on 3/13/13. The Lakers own a seven-game home winning streak against the Hawks. Atlanta’s last road victory was a 114-110 triumph on 2/15/06. The Lakers lead the all-time series 182-135, including a 43-16 home record since the Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968-69.
Common Threads
Hawks Assistant Coaches Darvin Ham (2011-13) and Quin Snyder (2011-12) are bother former assistants with the Lakers. Pau Gasol was originally selected by Atlanta (third overall) in the 2001 NBA Draft before his rights were dealt on draft night. Lakers Assistant Coach Johnny Davis is a former Hawks player, assistant coach and once served as the club’s Community Relations Director. Jodie Meeks starred at Norcross HS, leading the Blue Devils to the 2006 state title. Jordan Hill grew up in Atlanta, and played his first two high schools seasons as North Springs HS in Sandy Springs. Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks played together in Philadelphia (part of 2009-10 through 2012).
Information was used from the Hawks and Lakers official gamenotes
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