The Atlanta Hawks can’t play down to their competition vs Lakers
The end of January has been kind to the Atlanta Hawks (23-25). Their six-game winning streak has come at a time that’s allowed them to jump not one, but two spots in the Eastern Conference. They have gone from 12th to 10th thanks to the losses by the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards on consecutive nights.
Now, the Hawks have an opportunity to keep the good vibes rolling while getting some light revenge on an opponent that kicked off the most recent losing skid a little over three weeks ago in the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers come in having lost two games in a row and seven of their last 10.
They will also be without LeBron James who is dealing with knee soreness and could be without Anthony Davis (wrist) as well.
The Atlanta Hawks can’t take the Lebron James-less Lakers lightly if they want to win
Both Davis and James have missed the Lakers last contest, a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. They have been in and out of the lineup all season with various injuries. Yet the Lakers still find themselves sitting seventh in the West with a 25-26 record albeit trending in the wrong direction with a play-in berth on the table.
They are 5-9 without James and 10-11 without Davis but have just the one loss to the Hornets without either player in their lineup.
James had 32 points (17 in the fourth quarter), nine assists, eight rebounds, four steals, and three blocks in the last matchup, a game Davis missed but the Lakers still won in convincing fashion, 134-118.
L.A.’s trio of Malik Monk (29 points, 7-of-12 threes), Avery Bradley, and Talen Horton-Tucker (21 points apiece) did more damage than they should with the Hawks down De’Andre Hunter.
The Hawks lost their next four games.
They got 25 points and 14 assists from Trae Young and another 36 points and 12 boards from Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins while also having three players score 12 points off of the bench but it still wasn’t enough after the Hawks got outscored 37-26 in the third quarter after entering the second half down by just three points.
It didn’t help that Clint Capela was just 4-of-10 for nine points (with 12 boards) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had a big goose egg.
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Capela has been in a bit of a slump since returning from his ankle injury, averaging just 6.8 points on 68.4 percent shooting from the floor with 7.3 rebounds. He’s also continued to be miserable at the free-throw line, connecting just 25.0 percent of the time.
Hopefully, this is just rust and he will get back to form soon.
The Hawks will certainly need him to be his All-Star caliber self down the stretch if they want to make this turnaround worth it. They’ve seemingly gotten something in that vain from Bogdanovic who is averaging 18.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in the two games since his return from injury while shooting 52.0 percent (40% 3P).
He had 15 points on 41.7 percent shooting and went 4-of-9 in the last meeting.
This critical stretch of games doesn’t get any easier with dates against a lengthy Toronto Raptors team that just beat the Miami Heat in triple overtime and the Phoenix Suns, owners of the NBA’s best record, still on tap.
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Atlanta can do themselves a favor by not playing down to their competition as they have far too often this season. With no James in the lineup, they should beat the Lakers.