If Final Four odds have taken your attention away from the professional game, you may have missed the resurgence of the Los Angeles Lakers, who have led the Western Conference for the entire season, but their form was shaky coming out of the break. Despite a loss on Monday, the Lakers are still in good shape as they wrap up a five-game swing through the southern states in Atlanta, where the Hawks have been waiting since Sunday.
Lakers vs Hawks odds – Wednesday, March 31, 7:00 PM ET
The Lakers fell 108-100 in New Orleans on Monday, despite 31 points from Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol was a monster in this game, going for 26 points and 22 rebounds, but the Lakers shot 7-of-29 from three-point land, and 41.7% from the floor as a whole unit. If the Lakers have a true weakness for online sportsbook players to pick at, it's point guard: Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown combined for 17 points and five assists, while their counterparts in New Orleans, Chris Paul and Darren Collison, had 32 points and 16 assists. How much longer can the Lakers survive without a true point guard?
The Hawks won their eighth consecutive home game with a 94-84 victory over Indiana on Tuesday, and the duo of Josh Smith and Al Horford was just too much for the Pacers as they notched 39 points and 25 rebounds between them. Jamal Crawford also added 17 points off the bench for the Hawks, who outrebounded the Pacers 53-39, including 14-9 on the offensive end, and they outscored the Pacers by 10 in the paint, which was the difference in this basketball betting win.
The Hawks will be the favorites at home, as they've been good at Phillips Arena all season, and we mentioned before, they've won eight in a row at home. The Lakers have dropped four of their last six in Atlanta, including two in a row, and the Hawks will be out to avenge a 118-110 loss in Los Angeles on November 1st, when Bryant lit them up for 41 points. The Hawks are a much more cohesive unit now, and with Andrew Bynum still out (he scored 21 points in the first meeting), the Hawks match up better with the Lakers in the post with Horford and Smith. Atlanta is looking to move past Boston, at least, in the East pecking order, and a win over the Lakers would turn some heads. As for the Lakers, a loss won't be the end of the world as they know what they have already, but they have to work the ball around more: they are 3-5 when Bryant takes 30 or more shots, and 25-9 when he takes 20-29 shots.
Sports betting pick: Atlanta
