Atlanta @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2016 ) Atlanta 94, L.A. Lakers 109

The worst teams in their respective conferences square off when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. Only the Hawks (10) own fewer wins than the Lakers (11), who dropped their last three games by an average of 23 points to run their latest slide to nine straight.

Los Angeles slipped to 29th in the league in scoring defense at an average of 111.7 points and surrendered 93 points through the first three quarters in Friday's 108-94 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets. "Early in the year if we had off shooting nights we were still in ballgames because we were defending our tails off," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters. "The defense, we are going to get back to. As much as we are trying to get lineups together and get guys experience and find groups that are working, we are going to get back to being a good defensive team no matter what it takes." The Hawks have not won a road game since Dec. 2 at Brooklyn and dropped the first two legs of the five-game trip at Phoenix and Portland. Atlanta struggles on the defensive end as well and allowed the Trail Blazers to shoot 53.8 percent from the floor in Friday's 110-89 setback.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (10-28): The offense struggled just as much as the defense in Friday's loss, with Dennis Schroder leading just two players in double figures at 14 points as the team shot 36.1 percent from the floor. Schroder leads the team in scoring at an average of 19.6 points but is shooting 41.2 percent on the road while filling it up at 48 percent at home. Schroder is shooting just 31.9 percent from the field in his last four road games and is just 3-of-17 from 3-point range in those four contests.

ABOUT THE LAKERS (11-27): Los Angeles rookie point guard Lonzo Ball (shoulder) returned from a six-game absence on Friday and is taking ownership of his teams struggles. "I just need to get back to playing hard," Ball told reporters after scoring 11 points in 27 minutes. "Not really playing that hard right now. We're playing like garbage. It's something I need to address and fix." Small forward Brandon Ingram provided some of the few highlights on Friday while recording his fourth double-double of the season with 22 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Lakers waived veteran C Andrew Bogut.

2. Hawks rookie PF John Collins is shooting 57.8 percent from the field but is 4-of-19 over his last three games.

3. Los Angeles took both meetings last season after dropping three straight in the series.

PREDICTION: Hawks 116, Lakers 109