The NBA season continues this week ahead of the upcoming All-Star game, as the Los Angeles Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks at the Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers have had a strong season so far and come into this game following a defeat against the Sacramento Kings, moving them to a 23-14 record, while the Hawks’ campaign has been poor, and they come into this game with a 20-21 record, despite winning their last three games in a row.
We’ll take a look at the match-up and provide you with our best free NBA betting picks, as we try to earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the court.
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The Lakers had a poor pre-season campaign, going 1-5, and carried that into the regular season as they fell to defeat against the Golden State Warriors in the opening game. But star man Luka Doncic stepped up and carried the team to four wins in the next five games, including two wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves, to end October with a 4-2 record.
LA then won their first three games of November, making it five-in-a-row in total with wins against the Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs, before the team fell to a surprise 122-102 defeat to Atlanta. But once again the Lakers bounced back with an excellent winning run, claiming eight victories in their next nine games to end the month 11-2, and 15-4 overall.
December was a poor month, however, as JJ Reddick‘s team picked up just five wins from their 12 games. The Lakers managed back-to-back wins just once, when they defeated the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, but they then lost four of their last five in the month, including a 88-103 loss to local rivals the Los Angeles Clippers.
So far in January, it has been a mixed bag. The Lakers opened 2026 with three consecutive wins over the Memphis Grizzlies (twice) and New Orleans Pelicans, before three consecutive defeats against San Antonio, Milwaukee Bucks and the Sacramento Kings.
The Hawks had a mixed start to the season back in October, starting the season with three losses in their opening four games, before consecutive wins against the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers saw them go 3-3.
They then lost two of their first three in November, before going on their best winning run of the season to date, as they won five-in-a-row against the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Jazz and Suns. Back-to-back defeats halted that run, however, Atlanta then won four of their next five games to close the month out with a 13-8 record.
December was a catastrophic month for the team though, as they claimed just three wins throughout the month. Three defeats in a row against the Detroit Pistons, Clippers, and Denver Nuggets were followed by two wins in three, against the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. But after that, the team spiralled and fell to a ridiculous seven-game losing streak, which included Trae Young‘s return to action after a 22-game absence.
Since then, the team have won five of their seven games, losing twice only to the Toronto Raptors back-to-back, but they did also lose Young, who was traded to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, and come into this game having won three in a row against New Orleans, Denver, and Golden State.
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While the Hawks are coming into this game recharged, with fresh blood and in good form, it’s hard to look past the Lakers getting a win on home turf.
LA have had a strong season with all things considered, and with Luka Doncic in full flight the team are far less reliant on an ageing LeBron James, which makes them even more dangerous when it comes to games like these.
So far this season the Lakers have averaged 115.9 points per game, ranking them 18th across the entire NBA, which is actually less than the 118.4 points per game that Atlanta have averaged this season. However, defensively, they are allowing just 116.3 points per game in comparison to the 118.4 points per game the Hawks have been allowing.
Doncic has been averaging 33.3 points per game and 8.8 assists per game, while the likes of Deandre Ayton has been scoring at a 67% clip from the field, while also averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. Compare that to Atlanta’s top scorer, Jalen Johnson, who has averaged 23.7 points per game and 8.2 assists per game, there’s a considerable gap in the firepower on hand.
Despite the team playing a double-header, they should still have more than enough about them to get a result at home with the quality they have, and the value looks good too, despite three defeats in a row, so take it while you can.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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