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The LA Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. The Lakers will hope to bounce back after suffering consecutive losses against potential play-in tournament matchups Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers had a great opportunity to move up the standings, but they botched that chance and dropped to 10th in the standings. The Lakers are 36-32, one loss behind the ninth-placed Golden State Warriors and three games off the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are 30-37, but also 10th in their conference. They snapped a three-game skid on Sunday against the LA Clippers, blowing Kawhi Leonard and Co. out 110-93. It was arguably the best win of the year for the Hawks playing without Trae Young.
Atlanta Hawks vs. LA Lakers Injury Reports for Mar. 18
Atlanta Hawks injury report
The Hawks will be without Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Kobe Bufkin, AJ Griffin, Saddiq Bey, Mouhamed Gueye and Seth Lundy.
Update: Okongwu is available.
LA Lakers injury report
The Lakers have listed LeBron James and Anthony Davis as questionable. Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, Christian Wood, Gabe Vincent and Collin Casleton are ruled out.
Atlanta Hawks vs. LA Lakers Starting Lineups and Depth Charts for Mar. 18
Atlanta Hawks starting lineup and depth chart
The Hawks will likely deploy the same starting lineup from their last game. Dejounte Murray and Vit Krejci started in the backcourt, with a frontline of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Jalen Johnson and Clint Capela.
LA Lakers starting lineup and depth chart
The Lakers starting lineup is unlikely to see any changes. D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves will be the guards, while forwards LeBron James and Rui Hachimura will play next to Anthony Davis.
Atlanta Hawks vs. LA Lakers key matchups
The Hawks are depleted and might struggle to beat the Lakers on talent. However, the Hawks can be a handful if they manage to exploit matchups as they did against the Clippers. Atlanta was also disruptive defensively, which is what it needs to do against a poor defensive team like the Lakers.
The first key matchup is between D'Angelo Russell and Dejounte Murray. Russell's hot form has been critical whenever the Lakers have found success. When he struggles to get going, the Lakers' performance is also hindered. Murray is one of the better defensive guards, who can cause trouble for his counterpart.
The other battle is between Anthony Davis and Clint Capela. The Lakers rely on Davis more than any player and his off games have often resulted in the team's losses. Capela has the defensive tools to neutralize Davis as much as possible.
