If the Lakers want to revive their season after a difficult week, they must quickly recover against the Hawks on Monday.

The Lakers desperately need victories to break their losing streak and keep their hopes of improving their playoff or play-in seeding alive. Facing a below-average Hawks team presents a great opportunity for a win on Monday, provided the Lakers don’t waste this chance again.

Consecutive losses at this stage of the season, especially against teams in close proximity in the standings, feel like devastating blows. With opportunities for wins diminishing, the pressure is on to secure victories.

Thankfully, the Lakers will face two mediocre teams, the Hawks and the Sixers, in the upcoming week. The Hawks will be playing the second night of a back-to-back after facing the Clippers on Sunday.

To climb the standings and fend off a surging Rockets team, the Lakers must win these two games. Fortunately, the Hawks have struggled defensively throughout the season.

According to Cleaning The Glass, the Hawks rank last in both effective field goal percentage and location effective field goal percentage, indicating that they give up a significant number of high-percentage shots to their opponents. They also struggle to defend the 3-point line and are average at defending the rim, which is relatively one of their strengths this season.

The Hawks have a low defensive rating and allow a high frequency of shots at the rim, which could benefit the Lakers’ desire to attack the basket. However, in their previous encounter, the Lakers matched the Hawks’ defensive inefficiency and performed even worse. Without Anthony Davis, the Lakers allowed 138 points on 52.5% overall shooting and 16-38 from beyond the arc.

Interestingly, that game marked a turning point for the Lakers this season. After dropping to a 24-25 record with that loss, they went on a 12-5 run in their next 17 games before experiencing losses to the Kings and Warriors last week.

Although the Hawks may struggle defensively, their offensive firepower can make things interesting. However, their prospects are diminished without Trae Young. The Lakers, on the other hand, have a tendency to underestimate opponents and get caught off-guard.

If the Lakers fail to approach this game with the necessary focus and effort, things could quickly worsen.

Anthony Davis’ availability remains uncertain due to his left corneal abrasion, and LeBron James is also listed as questionable, as has been the case in recent weeks. Gabe Vincent and Cam Redish will not be available for the Lakers. 

The Hawks will not provide an injury report on Sunday due to their back-to-back schedule. In their game against the Clippers, Saddiq Bey, Kobe Bufkin, AJ Griffin, Onyeka Okongwu, Trae Young, and Mouhamed Gueye were all sidelined with various injuries.