Game 22: 02/01/21 Lakers at Hawks GAME THREAD

[KobeMVP888]

(15-6) LAKERS AT HAWKS (10-9)

Monday, February 1, 2021, 4:30 PM PDT
State Farm Arena- Atlanta, GA

Referees: David Guthrie (#16), Mitchell Ervin (#27), Mousa Dagher (#28)

Replay Center: Brandon Adair, Bill Kennedy, Natalie Sago, CJ Washington, Haywoode Workman

Line: Lakers -5.5
O/U: 219

National TV: NBA League Pass
Local TV: Spectrum Sportsnet



GAME PREVIEW: LAKERS AT HAWKS

by Christian Rivas, @RadRivas, silverscreenandroll.com

The Lakers have been on the road for almost two weeks. On Tuesday, they’ll return home to Los Angeles, but before they do that, they’ll try and end their road trip on a high note by beating the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

The Lakers bested the Hawks in both of their meetings last season, with their first game ended 122-101. However, the Hawks are a much different team than they were last season.

After acquiring Danilo Gallinari in a sign-and-trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and signed Rajon Rondo and Bogdan Bodganovic in free agency, it appears the Hawks enough pieces around Trae Young to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They currently hold the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 10-9 record.

However, it’s not the Hawks’ big name offseason acquisitions that have made them a threat in the Eastern Conference this season, at least not entirely. While one might come to the conclusion that the Hawks rely heavily on their offense by taking a quick glance at their roster, their defense has actually been a bright spot for them.

Through 19 games, the Hawks have posted a defensive rating of 111.2, which is the ninth-best defensive rating in the NBA. Last season, the Hawks ranked 28th in defensive rating.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, one of their defensive anchors, De’Andre Hunter, won’t be available on Monday night. That means someone else will be tasked with guarding LeBron James. There’s a chance that ultimately doesn’t matter because the Lakers will be tired (or because James isn’t going play), but if they’re locked in, that’s a matchup Frank Vogel can exploit.

On the defensive end, their scouting report starts with who else but Young. Young is averaging 27 points per game on 42% shooting from the field this season. If the Lakers can hold him under that by keeping him off of the free-throw line, they’ll be golden. Then again, we could get a Rajon Rondo revenge game. We know how good he can be against his former teams.

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/202 ... ts-lineups

[KobeMVP888]

I wouldn't call this a "trap game," I would call it a tough game. Watch for Playoff Rondo to show up, too. End of an absurdly long road trip. 4 games in 6 nights. Perhaps fresh Wesley can have a rare good game and Markieff can play tough and give our main guys some rest.

[lakerevolution]

Didn't want to make an extra thread of this, so:

On this day in Lakers history:

Pau Gasol Acquired In Blockbuster Trade With Grizzlies

On Feb. 1, 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers swung a franchise-altering trade with the Memphis Grizzlies that netted All-Star big man Pau Gasol and a second-round draft pick in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol and first-round picks in 2008 and 2010.

Prior to Gasol’s arrival, Los Angeles carried legitimate postseason aspirations with the excellent play of Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. But with the Spaniard now in the fold, the Lakers further solidified themselves as a championship contender.

Gasol instantly made his impact felt on both ends and carried the Lakers to a 22-5 record with him in the starting lineup. L.A. would then cruise through the first three rounds of the playoffs and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

Though the Lakers fell short to the Boston Celtics in six games, Gasol would help lead the Lakers to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and two championships.

Along the way he etched himself into Lakers history with many clutch and game-winning shots in the postseason.

Most notably was Gasol’s gutsy performance in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Celtics, which included a basket to ice the victory and propel the Lakers to their 16th NBA championship in franchise history.

Gasol’s tenure with the Lakers came to an end in 2014, but his legacy speaks for itself. In addition to two championships, he was selected to three All-Star teams (2009-11) and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2011, as well as the All-NBA Third Team on two separate occasions (2009-10).

In seven seasons with the Lakers, Gasol averaged per game totals of 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 52.2 shooting. Defensively, he added 1.4 blocks and 0.6 steals, and only committed two turnovers per contest.

Ok, give him a banner, sheesh

[lakerevolution]

Harrell, Schroeder and KCP all chip in nicely for the win, with LeBron running the floor on the first of two consecutive turnovers by the Hawks with under a minute left to seal the win! A little guaco on mi taco por favor! Road trip done . . we slacked a little but are still the champs.

[lakerevolution]

Caruso again had the best plus-minus rating on the Lakers, who outscored Atlanta by 13 points while he was the court.

Undrafted out of college, the fifth-year guard has claimed a bigger role in the playing rotation with his contributions at both ends of the court. He had eight points, two assists and two steals in nearly 25 minutes of playing time.

"He's one of our best players," coach Frank Vogel said. "That's the simplest way to put it. He typically moves the needle in a positive direction."

Lakers: Extended their streak to 31 straight victories when holding an opponent below 100 points. ... Los Angeles has won eight of its last nine meetings against Atlanta. ... James extended his NBA record streak of double-digit games to 1,017 in a row.

[KobeMVP888]

All this fun GOAT @ACFresh21 stuff aside, am delusional to believe that he deserves votes for the second or third team All-NBA Defensive team? Seriously, the dude knows exactly where to be on the floor, stays in front of his man, gets steals and many deflections and Vogel even put him on Jayson Tatum for stretches in the Boston game. In the last two games he made a game saving defensive play in Boston and the dagger defensive play last night. I think the league has to start taking notice of him. The Lakers are going to have to pony up next season, too. That's for sure.