The Lakers look to close out their four-game home stand with a winning streak as they host the Hawks on Friday.
After successfully bouncing back from their recent loss, the Lakers look to stay in the winning column against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. This will be the fifth time Los Angeles will play on a back-to-back this season as they look to get back at the Hawks who defeated them in their first meeting in December.
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Atlanta Hawks
When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Jan 3
Where: Crypto.com Arena
Watch: NBA TV, Spectrum Sportsnet
The Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday without Anthony Davis. The good news is that AD could rest and heal his ankle. The downside is that L.A. had to play until the last second to put the tanking Blazers to bed.
Led by Max Christie’s career-high 28 points and LeBron James’ 38 points in 36 minutes, the purple and gold will need them to bring it again in less than 24 hours.
Coming into Crypto.com Arena is a fierce Hawks team that’s actually playing decent basketball this season, at least compared to the last few years. L.A. should be well aware of this because in their first meeting against the same Atlanta team, Davis and James’ combined 67 points were not enough to defeat them. The Lakers’ defense at that time was an atrocious mess.
In Friday’s game against the Hawks, where the Lakers have a chance to improve to 20-14 for the season, it would be nice to see Davis carry the team on both ends of the floor since they’ll need his fresh legs and energy, assuming he plays. It would also be the perfect time for Austin Reaves to keep up his excellent play as he continues to take on more point guard duties for the team — especially since he’s also going to go toe-to-toe with Trae Young who is averaging 22.3 points and 12.0 assists per game this season.
I will keep emphasizing defense as the main key for the Lakers in this one especially since the Hawks are a tremendous offensive team who average the fifth most points per game in the association (117.9) and actually rebound the ball really well.
It won’t be surprising to see JJ Redick depend on Christie again, who had his first breakout game against the Hawks this season. The defense on Young in this one will be vital especially since the Hawks depend on him a lot. It would be nice to see the Lakers defense with more physicality and pressure on the perimeter, at least compared to when they first played the Hawks.
It’s also the Lakers’ responsibility to make sure that none of De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson or Dyson Daniels have a breakout type of night. If anything, it would be nice to see Rui Hachimura get his groove back and, hopefully, guys like Dorian Finney-Smith, Shake Milton and Dalton Knecht find their rhythm in this one.
A pattern I’d also like to see the Lakers break on Friday is the fact that teams from the Eastern Conference have swept them. That’s happened twice already in the last month with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.
Friday’s game against the Hawks won’t be easy, especially since the Lakers have the rest disadvantage in this one. But it’s a match they need to win if they’re truly serious about solidifying their spot in the competitive Western Conference standings.
Let’s see if the Lakers can make it two in a row before they head to Texas on Friday.
