Atlanta at Los Angeles

Atlanta heads out to the West Coast with a good team, and a healthy one. The same can't be said of the old, broken down Lakers. After an opening loss to Dallas, Atlanta bounced back with an impressive win over Toronto. Al Horford turned in a monster game against the Raptors with a double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds. Players were disappointed in their defense against Dallas, but against Toronto, the Hawks allowed just six fast break points to none for the Raptors in the second half. While it is still a work in progress, coach and players were pleased with the improved effort. The Hawks are 4-1 ATS in their last five vs. the NBA Pacific. The Lakers (1-2) are off a spread cover, but scored just 85 points against the Spurs, who were sitting Tim Duncan. The overvalued Lakers are 14-37-2 ATS in their last 53 games following an ATS win. Los Angeles is in the middle of the pack offensively, and one of the worst defensively allowing 106.3 ppg (24th). The Lakers are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 vs. the NBA Southeast. Kobe Bryant is out for the Lakers and is still weeks away from a return after tearing his Achilles tendon in April, so grab the visitors. Play the Atlanta Hawks.