Lakers vs Hawks Picks and Predictions: Red-Hot Hawks Fend Off Wounded Lake Show

The Los Angeles Lakers close out an East Coast road trip against one of the hottest teams in the NBA Sunday afternoon. The Atlanta Hawks, who have won six in a row (6-0 ATS), are 7.5-point NBA betting favorites for this non-conference clash.

The Lakers limp into Atlanta, with LeBron James expected to sit out and Russell Westbrook (probable) also nursing injuries. The Hawks aren’t without their own ailments, most notably guard Trae Young who is questionable with a sore hip.

With All-Star power on the fence, we do our best with our free NBA picks and predictions for Lakers at Hawks on January 30.

Lakers vs Hawks odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.

This line was slow coming out with all that name power on both sides nursing injuries. Atlanta opened as a 7.5-point home favorite, dipping to -7 at some books, while the total opened as low as 224 and has jumped to as high as 226 points, with some books dealing 225.

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Lakers vs Hawks predictions

• Prediction: Hawks -7 (-110)
• Prediction: Over 225 (-110)
• Best bet: Hawks 3Q ML (-160)

Predictions made on 1/30/2022 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Lakers vs Hawks game info

• Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Date: Sunday, January 30, 2022
• Tip-off: 1:00 p.m. ET
• TV: SNLA, BSSE, TSN

Lakers vs Hawks betting preview

Injuries

Lakers: LeBron James F (Out), Russell Westbrook G (Probable), Malik Monk G (Probable).
Hawks: Trae Young G (Questionable), De’Andre Hunter F (Questionable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Hawks are 23-8 ATS in their last 31 home games vs. teams with losing road record. Find more NBA betting trends for Lakers vs. Hawks.

Lakers vs Hawks picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

Editor's Note: These picks were made prior to Anthony Davis being made available to play. 

The opening number would suggest that oddsmakers don’t expect to see LeBron in action this afternoon, leaving the Lakers to continue to stumble in the final leg of this six-game Eastern Conference road trip. Los Angeles has lost three of the first five games so far, including back-to-back losses at Philadelphia and Charlotte.

Atlanta’s winning streak has been boosted by a home-friendly stretch of schedule that has sent the Hawks away from State Farm Arena just once in the past seven games. The Hawks have also covered in each of those six wins, providing bettors with plenty of sweat-free nights and an average margin of almost 13 points per game during this span.

Unlike the Lakers, who can be star-dependent, Atlanta is one of the deepest lineups in the league, with eight different players averaging more than nine points on the season. And with all the uncertainty around player availability this afternoon, we’ll side with the deeper team but also the hotter team, at home.

Prediction: Hawks -7 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

Editor's Note: These picks were made prior to Anthony Davis being made available to play. 

This Over/Under number made an early move up, after opening at 224 points, and we agree with that opinion as this game could turn into a bit of a shootout considering how these teams’ philosophies match up.

As mentioned above, the Lakers watched their 3-point defense suffer when Davis was sidelined for most of December and January. The Lakers allowed just 33.5% shooting from 3-point range (fifth-lowest) to start the year, then watched that clip plump to 36.6% from distance (27th) with Davis out of the lineup between Dec. 17 and Jan. 24. 

During this six-game winning run, Atlanta has knocked down an average of almost 14 triples on 39% shooting. Young’s availability will be a big lift to the Hawks’ perimeter play, with the point guard knocking down over 42% of his looks from deep and tallying 4.2 triples per contest in this frame.

Los Angeles is going to try to push the tempo on Atlanta – even without James leading the charge – playing the third-fastest pace in the NBA. The Lakers have long been one of the best attacks in transition (averaging 23.2 ppg in transition) and face a Hawks defense that can get put on its heels. Atlanta allows more the 19 points in transition an outing and ranks dead last in opponent scoring frequency (54.3%) to transition offenses.

Prediction: Over 225 (-110)

Best bet

Alternative odds and props are hard to come by for this game with all those big-name talents up in the air. With that in mind, we slice up this contest with the derivative markets, keying in on the Hawks’ third-quarter success.

Atlanta enters Sunday as the best team coming out of the break, averaging a league-high 29.1 third-quarter points per game on the year, with that output spiking to 30.2 3Q points during the six-game winning streak. During that run, the Hawks have owned an average margin of +6.0 in third quarters. 

The Lakers, on the other hand, haven’t been the best at making halftime adjustments. Los Angeles musters a mere 26.8 average points in the third frame and worse, allows foes to fire up 28 points against in those third quarters. Los Angeles erupted for a 36-22 third-quarter effort at Charlotte on Friday but was rolled 34-30 in the 3Q at Philadelphia the night before.

With a dinged-up Lakers roster road-weary and ready to get back to their own beds, Los Angeles could start looking ahead to the trip home after the halftime break. 

Pick: Hawks 3Q ML (-160)

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