Hawks vs. Lakers Game Preview

The Hawks will look to rebound from Saturday's loss with a bout against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s hard to imagine a night going worse for the Hawks than Saturday night’s 150-101 loss to the Clippers, but a quick turnaround against on Sunday leaves minimal dropoff between Atlanta’s quality of opponent. The Los Angeles Lakers have been arguably the best team in the NBA through their first 12 games. They own a 10-2 record behind a resurgent season from LeBron James, who has played like an MVP candidate and remains the undisputed catalyst of L.A.’s offense despite first-year Laker Anthony Davis leading the team in scoring.

The combination of the two has been downright unstoppable on both ends of the floor. It might be the most lethal pick-and-roll combination in the league with Steph Curry sidelined, and there’s just no good answer for stopping either player. Is a team supposed to wall off Davis’ paths to the rim at the expense of James getting downhill? Or bring an extra defender to one of the greatest passers in NBA history – knowing full well he’ll find Davis over the top of the defense?

Game Time: Sunday, November 17, 2019, 9:30 p.m. ET

Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

TV: FOX Sports Southeast, Spectrum SportsNet

Streaming: NBA League Pass, FOX Sports Go

James’ scoring average is the lowest it has been since his rookie season – in 2004! – but he is playing perhaps the most balanced and controlled basketball of his career. His individual efficiency is down early, but James remains perhaps the league’s best passer and an offensive system unto himself. He currently leads the league in assists, but more importantly, James is in command of L.A.’s offense and the opponent’s defense at all times. He may not have quite the burst and explosiveness he did a decade ago, but James has reinvented himself in a way that mitigates that marginal athletic decline. He relies more on patience and strength than ever, and James is elite in both categories.

The Lakers are 17.8 points per 100 possessions better offensively with LeBron on the floor, and while his own shooting from 3 and at the rim are down from previous seasons, the Lakers generate and make more of those shots with him on the floor. Even the minutes Davis plays without James have been fairly rocky thus far. The Lakers have been good enough in the aggregate to maintain a top-10 offense, and when James’ shooting comes around, L.A. could plausibly have a top-five unit on both ends of the floor.

As much as James’ offensive brilliance, it’s been the Laker defense that has been so difficult for opponents to reckon with. L.A. leads the NBA in defensive efficiency as both James and Davis play their most engaged defense in years. Even Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee are playing key roles in anchoring the team on that end of the floor. There has been (justifiable) clamoring for Davis to play center more often, but L.A.’s defense has benefitted tremendously from pairing him with another traditional big man. The Lakers allow the fifth-lowest field goal percentage at the rim and rank in the top 10 leaguewide in defensive rebounding percentage, foul rate, defensive turnover percentage, and opponent shooting.

That will make for a fascinating strategic tug-of-war with the Hawks. Atlanta takes over 40 percent of its shots at the rim – the second-highest mark in the league – but will run into more stronger deterrents than usual against L.A.’s back line. Avery Bradley, the Lakers’ quickest perimeter defender, is most valuable against ball-dominant guards like Trae Young. He is extremely difficult to screen and will make it a point to take away Young’s pull-up 3s out of the pick-and-roll. That could result in a barrage of floaters from Young if Davis, Howard, and McGee hang back by the rim to take away passes to roll men like Damian Jones and Alex Len.

Offensively, the Lakers have placed an equally heavy emphasis on the rim, where they attempt the third-highest share of shots at the rim and third-fewest looks from 3. James and Davis have only taken about a fifth of their combined shots from 3 – though if finishers like them can get to the rim, they should. Danny Green is the only significant 3-point shooting threat in the rotation, but his offensive limitations prevent him from creating looks independent of L.A.’s other playmakers.

The Lakers also have relatively few playmakers to create those looks. The tradeoff of gathering such prolific top-end talent is flexibility building out the rest of the roster. James leading the league in assists, while a testament to his vision and unselfishness, is also a reflection of how little creation the Lakers have outside of him. Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso have helped stabilize a previously disastrous second unit, but generating quality shots without James on the floor remains a challenge for the Lakers.