Atlanta Hawks vs Los Angeles Lakers: Spread and Final Score Predictions

Can the Hawks find a way to defeat the Lakers tonight in Los Angeles?

Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots against the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After losing to the Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Atlanta Hawks are in Los Angeles to face the Lakers. Atlanta is still searching for its first win of 2025 and this is an important game for them. While this is just one game out of 82, the Hawks could use a win here. They own the Lakers unprotected pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and anytime they can hand them a loss, it helps. They won the first matchup this year in Atlanta, which ended up being an instant classic in overtime.

Our own Rohan Raman previewed the game earlier today:

"Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 5th in the NBA in PPG, 13th in FG%, 18th in 3PA, 18th in 3P%, 3rd in FTA, 25th in turnovers, and 5th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 14th in points per 100 possessions, 16th in effective field goal percentage, 19th in turnover percentage, 7th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 7th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 22nd in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed, and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 17th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 26th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Offensively, the Lakers are solid through their stars forcing a lot of free throws and not turning the ball over. Los Angeles is currently 17th in PPG, 9th in FG%, 28th in 3PA, 19th in 3P%, 5th in FTA, 28th in rebounding, and 5th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Lakers are 15th in points per 100 possessions, 11th in effective field goal percentage, 8th in turnover percentage, 27th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 1st in free throw rate.

Defensively, Los Angeles is also solid but unspectacular. They are 19th in PPG allowed, 25th in FG% allowed, 8th in 3PA allowed, and 20th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Lakers are 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 21st in effective field goal percentage.

Trae Young looks to have found his scoring groove again. In four of his last five games, he's gone for 27 points or more and he's scored 30 in his last two. He followed a 34 point and 10 assist game vs the Raptors, a game in which he also hit seven threes, up by dropping 30 points and nine assists against Denver. If Johnson sits again, he's going to have to carry a heavy offensive load against an expoitable LA defense.

Dyson Daniels on Austin Reaves should be a fun matchup to watch. Daniels is a brutal matchup for any ball-handler and Reaves has been excellent as a facilitator recently. He's hit double-digit assists in four of his last five games. Furthermore, he's been able to keep his turnovers down to a reasonable number in those games. However, he has not faced a defender as good as Daniels, who leads the NBA in steals by a whopping 0.9 steals per game.

One battle that will be interesting to watch is on the boards. The Hawks have been a strong rebounding team all year and the Lakers are one of the worst. Clint Capela should be able to match up well with Jaxson Hayes, but the possible loss of Johnson will certainly hurt Atlanta in this area. If Davis comes back for LA, that would be massive for their ability to win the rebounding battle. That being said, Johnson is also critical to solving the biggest defensive issue for the Hawks to handle tonight - LeBron James. Johnson is a great defender for James because of their similar body types. Without him, the Hawks might have to use DeAndre Hunter a lot as the defender on him because Risacher is not physically ready to take on that assignment.

If Young's minutes are limited, Vit Krejci's strong performance against the Nuggets (14 points off the bench with five assists) will need to continue. Despite a slow start to the season, he's looked better as of late and if he can get going from deep, that would be massive for the Hawks' chances in this one.

Although Risacher does not project to be ready to handle the full-time James assignment, it will be interesting to see what he can do on defense against him. Risacher's defense has been much more consistent than his offense. It should be noted that he is making some strides in that area. He's hit double-digit points in three of his last five games and his finishing is starting to get better. He's also grown as a shooter, hitting 70% of his free throws on the year and getting his three-point percentage to 28.4% on 4.4 attempts a game. Those numbers are still below average, but there is some progress there."

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, the Lakers are 3.5-point favorites tonight vs Hawks and the total is set at 233.

Prediction

The injury report is going to be huge in this game. Atlanta will need to have Trae Young and Jalen Johnson in this game if both James and Davis are able to go tonight, but the Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back so the Hawks have that working in their favor. If both of them are able to go tonight, I like the Hawks to be able to find a way to win against the Lakers tonight and get back on track.

Final Score: Hawks 117, Lakers 113

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