Jalen Johnson and the Hawks ride a 5-game winning streak into their Friday night matchup with the Lakers (7:30 ET, NBA League Pass).
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LeBron James and the Lakers travel to Atlanta to take on Trae Young and the Hawks. Here are four things to know before watching the Lakers face the Hawks.
1. Atlanta is getting hot: Winners of five straight games, the Hawks are one of the hottest teams in the NBA entering this matchup. They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers twice in that span and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday in their most recent outing. Four of those five victories have also been by double-digit margins, which has earned them a spot in the quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup.
2. The Lakers need a win: The Lakers are still above .500, but they come into this matchup losers of six of their last eight games. The only wins were over the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs.
3. Youngsters taking over in Atlanta: Young has been Atlanta’s best player for a handful of years, but these young guys have changed this team. Jalen Johnson broke out in the final months of the 2023-24 season and looks like a candidate for the Kia Most Improved Player this season. He’s averaging 20.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks while shooting 51% from the field. Dyson Daniels was the key piece of the Dejounte Murray trade and could be in the running for Kia Defensive Player of the Year. Daniels is averaging 13.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. Those three steals per game are the highest total in the NBA.
4. Lakers have the edge: These teams only play twice a year, but they rarely play close games. In fact, they haven’t had a game decided by eight points or fewer in six straight matchups, with the winner winning by an average of 16 points per game. The Lakers have been on the better end of that, winning three of their last four meetings with the Hawks.
