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The Los Angeles Lakers will pay a visit to State Farm Arena to take on the Atlanta Hawks in a 1 PM tip on Sunday. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Lakers-Hawks prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.
The Los Angeles Lakers are having a rollercoaster season so far, to say the least. They've lost seven of their last 10 games and have been unable to string consecutive wins since winning four straight earlier this month. At 9th in the Western Conference, they still technically have a shot of making the playoffs. But their lack of consistency and chemistry at this part of the season is concerning for a team billed as a championship contender prior to the season.
Meanwhile, the Hawks will carry a lot of momentum heading into Sunday with six straight wins under its belt. This is currently the second-longest active winning streak in the NBA. Trae Young and company have won their last three outings by at least 16 points. The Hawks had a rough start to their campaign and even fell to 17-25 before rallying to their current 23-25 record. They have climbed to the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference, which still gives them a chance to make the postseason via the play-in tournament route.
Here is how FanDuel has set the Lakers–Hawks NBA odds for this Saturday night NBA matchup.
NBA odds: Lakers–Hawks Odds
Los Angeles Lakers: +6.5 (-110)
Atlanta Hawks: -6.5 (-110)
Over: 224 (-110)
Under: 224 (-110)
Why the Lakers could cover the spread
The Los Angeles Lakers enter this outing coming off back-to-back losses to Eastern Conference teams. Los Angeles will continue to be without star forward LeBron James as he is still dealing with a sore left knee. He will miss his third straight game with the injury. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis is reportedly expected to suit up on Sunday, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
He sustained a wrist injury after a bad fall during their game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Davis did come back after suffering the injury and proceeded to drop 31 points. The 8-time All-Star recently returned from an MCL injury but sat out against Charlotte due to the wrist issue.
Without James and Davis, the Lakers fell by as much as 20 points in the third quarter of their 117-114 loss to the Hornets. But led by Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles mounted a furious comeback in the same period to make the game interesting until the very last second. Westbrook powered his squad back with 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting to go along with four rebounds and five assists. Unfortunately, the former MVP was unable to complete the Lakers' comeback with a missed go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Aside from LeBron and AD, the Lakers also listed Westbrook as probable due to knee soreness, putting the Lakers' Big Three in peril of missing this one. Malik Monk is also probable for Sunday due to left groin soreness.
The Lakers are 24-26 on the season and sit at 9th in Western Conference. They are 11-10 against Eastern Conference teams and are 9-14 on the road. Against the spread, Los Angeles is just at 21-29.
Why the Hawks could cover the spread
The Atlanta Hawks may have the edge on this one with the way they've been playing over the last two weeks. As noted, they've won six straight and have limited their teams to less than 110 points over their last four games. Trae Young is proving why he deserved to be an All-Star starter for the second time in his career with his play over Atlanta's 6-game winning streak. Ice Trae is averaging 27.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists while draining 42.4 percent of his threes over this stretch.
Young did not shoot well (8-of-25) in their most recent win over the Boston Celtics. But John Collins had 21 points, Bojan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari combined for 33 points off the bench to propel the Hawks to the blowout win.
Unfortunately, the Hawks may be in danger of being without their star point guard for this one. Atlanta listed Young as questionable with right hip soreness. In addition, starting forward Deandre Hunter is also questionable with right ankle discomfort.
The Hawks are 13-11 at home and are 9-10 against non-conference teams. Against the spread, they are just at 21-27.
Final Lakers–Hawks prediction and pick
This is a tough one, given both teams have relatively similar records against the spread. But with Davis likely good to go, it might be safer to go with the Lakers to cover. Los Angeles did have some momentum from the Charlotte game and that could carry over to this one. Keep an eye out on Atlanta's Trae Young, too, as he could miss this one with his hip injury. His status could affect the outcome of this game since they run a ton of their offense through him.
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Final Lakers–Hawks Prediction & Pick: Lakers: +6.5 (-110)
