LA Lakers vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction: Combined starting 5 featuring LeBron James and Trae Young
The reigning NBA champions, LA Lakers, will visit the Atlanta Hawks on February 1st in a matchup with lots of star presence. The LeBron James-led LA Lakers currently have a 15-6 record and have been great on the road. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks started the 2020-21 NBA season strongly and still have a winning record after suffering a four-game losing streak in early January.
In this article, we will create a combined starting five from the rosters of these two squads. It should be fun creating a lineup combining experience and youth with potential; qualities players of both teams have.
LA Lakers vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction: Combined starting 5
Both teams achieved great road wins in their most recent games. The Hawks defeated the Washington Wizards at Washington with 41 points from Trae Young on January 29th. The LA Lakers ended their two-game losing streak with a great 96-95 win against the Boston Celtics at Boston.
The Lakers will end their seven-game road trip with their visit to Atlanta's State Farm Arena. During this trip, LA have won four of the previous six games. The LA Lakers' schedule has been tough, as they have played 13 of their 21 games on the road and 13 of the last 17.
The 10-9 Atlanta Hawks are sixth in the Eastern Conference, and injuries haven't really helped them, as star free agent signing Bogdan Bogdanovic has played just nine of their 19 games.
The game should be high-scoring, as these two teams are seventh (Atlanta) and eighth (LA) in Offensive Rating.
So without further ado, let us create the combined starting five with players of the LA Lakers and Atlanta Hawks.
Guard - Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)
The Atlanta Hawks have a great offensive weapon in Trae Young. He struggled during a seven-game stretch from January 2nd to January 16th when he averaged 18 points and made 32% of his field goals (and the Hawks went 1-6). However, Young has returned to form and is performing tremendously.
Overall, he is averaging 27 points and eight assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season. He is a volume scorer who will not shoot a high percentage from the field at this stage of his career, but still adds a lot of value to the Atlanta Hawks.
He leads the NBA in free throws and free-throw attempts while also ranking in the Top 20 in Player Efficiency Rating so far.
Guard - Dennis Schroder (LA Lakers)
One of the best bench scorers from the 2019-20 NBA season, Dennis Schroder is now doing a great job for the LA Lakers as a starting guard. He has even helped LeBron James a lot by handling the ball to start many offensive sets in the 2020-21 NBA season.
Schroder is a dynamic player and he's been arguably the LA Lakers' third-best asset so far. Despite not having a highly efficient year from the field or the three-point line so far, Schroder's 13 points and four assists per game have been huge for Frank Vogel's team.