Game 42: 03/20/21 Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

[KobeMVP888]

(21-20) HAWKS AT LAKERS (28-13)

Saturday, March 20, 2021, 12:30 PM PDT
Staples Center • Los Angeles, CA

Referees: Josh Tiven (#58), Mark Ayotte (#56), Bennie Adams (#47)

Replay Center: Rodney Mott (#71), Dedric Taylor (#21), Haywoode Workman (#66)

Line: Lakers -3.5
O/U: 219.5

National TV: NBA League Pass
Local TV: Spectrum SportsNet



GAME PREVIEW: HAWKS AT LAKERS: Two streaks enter, only one will leave

by Harrison Faigen, @hmfaigen, sliverscreenandroll.com

When the Lakers last saw the Hawks in Atlanta, the story of the game was LeBron James vs. Courtside Karen, a fan who yelled at LeBron that she was going to “f--- him up,” got ejected from the arena along with her husband and seemingly fueled LeBron to score 12 points in the fourth quarter and put the Hawks away.

A lot will be different for this matchup. For one, there won’t be any morons sitting courtside trying to fight LeBron, as Staples Center is still not allowing fans, so the Hawks have that working in their favor. Atlanta also fired head coach Lloyd Pierce since that matchup, and have gone 7-0 since handing the reigns to Nate McMillan. The team has also gotten healthier and started to find their stride, and have risen all the way to fifth in the Eastern Conference after the Lakers dropped the Hornets down a slot by beating them on Thursday night.

Now, the Hawks have not faced the highest-quality opponents during this recent stretch, but they’re eager to try and prove their turnaround is for real against some better ones, starting with the Lakers:

“We’ve got a long road trip coming up that in a lot of ways is going to make or break our season, so that’s kind of how we’re going into it." — Kevin Huerter

Of the 8 teams the Hawks face on this trip out West, 6 have winning records. On this seven-game win streak, the Hawks have faced only one team that has a winning record (Miami).

The streak is obviously still significant, as the Hawks were previously struggling in the 4th quarter against all caliber of opponent, and they've improved on that front.

Just two weeks ago, the Lakers might have seemed more like a team they could keep their success rolling against. But the purple and gold are on a streak of their own, winning their first four games since the All-Star break to rise to second place in the Western Conference. So against all odds, this actually appears to be a pretty meaningful game for both teams, as far as random regular season matchups between two teams in opposite conferences go.

The Lakers will probably still be favored to win on Saturday, but with a weird, 12:30 p.m. afternoon start time, who knows what will happen in this one. Add in that there will be no Courtside Karens to fuel LeBron, Atlanta’s current win streak and that Rajon Rondo is probably due for his one really good, completely unexpected and usually revenge-based regular season game of the year, and maybe we actually should be picking the Hawks to win here.

Notes and Updates

- Marc Gasol and two-way player Kostas Antetokounmpo are no longer listed as out under the health and safety protocols. Here are the injury reports for both teams. The Lakers do not have Marc Gasol ruled out for tomorrow's game. It appears he has cleared the protocols.

- Should LeBron James win his fifth MVP this season? He, his teammates and coach all think so, and made the case for it on Thursday.

- Dennis Schröder wants to stay with the Lakers. So why is an extension not done? I dug in.

- I also spent Thursday asking the Lakers if they cared about getting the No. 1 seed. The answer? Not really, but they do want to make sure they keep improving.
Want to stay informed on the latest trade rumors as the deadline approaches? Bookmark our tracker.

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/202 ... trae-young

[KobeMVP888]

Fu-u-u-u-u-u-u--c-c-c-k-k-k-k-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not the meaningless loss, but LeBron OUT for at least 6 weeks.

[3Peatkb24]

Fu-u-u-u-u-u-u--c-c-c-k-k-k-k-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not the meaningless loss, but LeBron OUT for at least 6 weeks.

Yeah you beat me too it!! He will be out at least 6 weeks, a high ankle sprain is bad. Thank God this didn't happen at the beginning of the playoffs so that is only thing I can take from this. I missed the game and seen we lost. I figured there was a reason why we did, then I seen LeBron played only 11 minutes. I was like oh shit when I seen that. I figured something was wrong. Then I seen and read about his injury.

[lakerevolution]

Well, shit. Shit shit shit shit shit.

Everybody takes a superstar's health for granted until reality hits. This may be Kuzma's time to shine - that Steph Curry-like dribble and spin move he put on the young star Collins for a layup was indicative of what he's capable of doing on the floor. It's going to be up to him, Harrell and Schroeder to lead the team during this stretch. I have faith in Vogel that the execution he preaches will continue on the court and we will now really see what this team is made of.

Nate McMillian is doing a brilliant job so far in Atlanta, the Hawks will be a tough out in the East.

[3Peatkb24]

This sucks but it is what it is. If it had to happen, now is better than at the beginning of the playoffs. Hopefully we get healthy for the playoffs as that will be the key. The West is really deep this year, the Clippers really don't scare me but Utah is a bit scary. A darkhorse are the Blazers if they are 100%. Look out for Dame time and that damn Center they have who will be back in about a week. Clippers IMO don't have what it takes to win the West, Leonard is a top 5 player in the league but PG isn't even top 10. I have followed PG throughout his career and he will fold in the playoffs. He is a top 15 player but that won't cut it come playoffs. I like the combo of Mitchell and Rudy G better especially if they have any kind of HCA. Utah as it is, is 16-2 at home with like 20 fans in the stands lol. For some reason Utah has had the best HCA going way back to Stockton and Malone, must be the water in Utah or the poison Pizza MJ ate lol. Out East the fuckin Nets are stacked being cute loading up with Durant, Earth is flat dude, and the Bearded Flopper!

Regarding Nate McMillan the Pacers should've never got rid of him. I liked ol' Nate, Hawks aren't a threat to win it all but they will be a tough out come playoffs.