Hawks at Lakers
After opening the season against three of the top teams in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers will host a team from the East when the Atlanta Hawks visit Sunday. The Lakers have lost two in a row since a season-opening win over the Clippers and are hoping to avoid a repeat of last season’s early struggles, when they lost four of their first five. The Hawks begin a three-game trip on the heels of a 102-95 victory over Toronto in their home opener.
Los Angeles is still trying to find its identity with Kobe Bryant sidelined with a torn Achilles, and coach Mike D’Antoni knows he needs to find a rotation that works - and he needs to find it fast. “Still searching for the right combinations in there and we’ve got to get that settled - yesterday,” he said after Friday’s 91-85 loss to the Spurs. New Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer has no such concerns, with all five starters scoring in double figures at least once in the first two games.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (1-1): Center Al Horford is the face of the franchise after Atlanta overhauled its roster the past two seasons. He and the rest of his teammates are still adjusting to Budenholzer’s motion offense, but Horford seemed comfortable scoring 22 points against the Raptors. "He put us on his shoulders," Budenholzer said.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (1-2): Pau Gasol has stepped up to fill Bryant’s leadership void, but Los Angeles is struggling to find a consistent No. 2 scorer. Xavier Henry seemed like he might be the one after totaling 36 points over the first two games, but he slumped to just three points in 22 minutes against the Spurs. “It's a work in progress,” backup guard Jordan Farmar said. “It's a long season, and there's going to be growing pains until we find our groove."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Horford and Jeff Teague are the only players who have been with the Hawks more than two seasons.
2. The teams have split the season series 10 times since 2000-01.
3. Hawks SF Kyle Korver has hit a 3-pointer in 75 regular-season games in a row - the longest active streak in the league.