Hawks vs. Lakers Prediction: ATL Looking to Sweep LA Teams

The Atlanta Hawks (30-37) already beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, and now they’re looking to complete the Hollywood sweep by taking down the Los Angeles Lakers (36-32).

Atlanta is 6-5 since Trae Young was forced out of the lineup with a torn ligament in his finger. Their offense hasn’t taken as much of a hit as expected, and their defense has become more versatile and is just outside the top 10 in the league in efficiency since the All-Star break.

The Lakers are coming off a loss to the Golden State Warriors mired by controversy and official reviews that caused them to fall to the 10 seed in the Western Conference. They’re 12-7 since Feb. 1 but lost to the Hawks by 16 points when they met on Jan. 30.

Hawks vs. Lakers Betting Odds for Monday, March 18

The Hawks are a pitiful 23-44 (34.3 percent) against the spread, the worst mark in the league. They’re also 8-12 (40 percent) ATS as a road underdog but covered in four of their last seven outings.

The Lakers are 31-38 (44.9 percent) ATS and 11-14 (44.0 percent) ATS as a home favorite. They also covered in just four of their last 12 games, and three of those four came as underdogs.

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Hawks vs. Lakers Prediction

Atlanta Hawks Preview

The Hawks are probably going to sneak into the Play-In Tournament as the 10 seed despite being seven games below .500. 

The Loss of Young has not significantly hindered the team’s ability to score the basketball. They rank 14th in points per 100 possessions since he exited the fold, although they now go about their business in a much different way.

Without their ball-dominant point guard pounding the rock, there is more movement in Atlanta’s offense despite a decline in overall pace. The result is them ranking eighth in three-point attempts and percentage (38.2) since the All-Star break, though they struggle to create points in the paint.

The more impressive part of the Hawks’ team sans Young is their defense. They allowed 109.8 points per 100 possessions since his injury, a number that would rank second in basketball if applied to the entire year. 

Dejounte Murray is having a fantastic month, averaging 27.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 4.6 rebounds on 40.7 percent three-point shooting. Third-year pro Jalen Johnson has also been a standout, averaging 17.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists over his last 10 games.

The team is 3.5 points per 100 possessions worse on the road than it is at home for the year as a whole. It’s also 5-6 on the second night of a back-to-back but won three straight in this context.

Los Angeles Lakers Preview

The Lakers are an interesting team, to put it nicely. Despite having excellent defensive personnel and starting the year as one of the three best defensive teams, they allowed the third-most points per 100 possessions (120.4) since the All-Star break.

Another glaring issue the purple and gold have is commanding the boards—again, despite their size. They rank 26th in rebound rate since their return to action despite Anthony Davis and LeBron James averaging a combined 19.5 rebounds.

At the same time, the purple and gold had the sixth-most efficient offense since the mid-year festivities. Their deadeye three-point shooting is at the center of their ability to score the ball as they shot 40.8 percent from deep over the last few weeks.

The difficulty with predicting the Lakers’ results is their inconsistency night-to-night. When fully engaged, they look like the second-best team in the conference, but too often they play down to the level of their competition.

LeBron is questionable because of a sore ankle. He averaged 27.1 points, 9.1 assists, and 6.4 rebounds on 43 percent three-point shooting since Feb. 1 and is spending an increasing amount of time orchestrating the offense.

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Hawks vs. Lakers Betting Pick

There will be inevitable line movement if either one of LeBron or Davis (both questionable) is ruled out, so wait for the injury report before placing any bets.

The Lakers are a much better team taking on the worst team in the NBA when it comes to covering the spread, but they’re also extremely inconsistent, making this a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

Assuming the health of both stars and a high line, we’ll take the Hawks to cover in a likely loss.

• Hawks vs. Lakers pick: Atlanta Hawks +8.5 at BetMGM

How to Watch Hawks vs. Lakers on 3/18/24

• When: Monday @ 7:30/10:30 p.m. CT/PT

• Where: crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

• TV: NBA League Pass

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