The Los Angeles Lakers meet the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night for their third matchup of the year. The Lakers and Hawks will be the final game of the day and the two teams will be searching for their second victories of the fresh 2013-2014 campaign.
The Lakers played very well in their season opener, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 116-103. Their bench was resourceful and powerful, giving the starters a rest in the fourth quarter and taking matters into their own hands.
However, that opening night in L.A. appears to be a distant memory as the Lakers were destroyed by the Golden State Warriors and then recently beaten by the veteran San Antonio Spurs. it is clear that the Lakers are going through periods of adjustments without Kobe Bryant, but they will have to play as a team if they are to win this game against a young Hawks team.
The Hawks are not the team they were in recent years. Only Al Harford remains in this team that was jammed with championship potential, but could never make it far into the playoffs. They had fantastic regular seasons, but that was it.
They are off to a 1-1 start, getting their first victory of the season in a 102-95 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Horford led the way with 16 rebounds and 22 points, racking up the double-double. Jeff Teague moved the ball around, picking up 12 of the Hawks' 24 points.
It will be interesting to see who walks out with the victory as both teams appear to be in the limbo. The Lakers seem to old to compete with the other teams in the NBA, while the Hawks do not appear to have the right personnel to compete against the best guys in the Eastern Conference.
Click here to watch the live stream of the Lakers vs. Hawks.
