The set-up: The Atlanta Hawks have played just once since the break, losing badly at Indiana by the score of 116-93. It was Atlanta's third consecutive loss and fifth in six games. Atlanta's 18-42 record currently leaves the Hawks last in the Eastern Conference and with a record better than only the 18-43 Suns in the entire NBA. The Hawks will host the Lakers for the only time this season at Philips Arena and will be looking to split the season series after Los Angeles won 132-113 back on Jan. 7 at the Staples Center. The 25-34 Lakers are surely not playoff-bound but this young team has shown improvement this month. The Lakers are undefeated in two games since the All-Star break and check in at 6-3 since Feb. 1.
LA Lakers: The game will be a homecoming for Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who played at the University of Georgia. He coming off his best performance of the year, a season-high 34-point effort that included a career-high eight three-point baskets in a 113-108 win over the Sacramento Kings. Caldwell-Pope (13.5 & 5.0) has scored in double figures in 39 games and had nine 20-plus point performances. Los Angeles is bringing rookie PG Lonzo Ball back slowly from a knee injury and continues to bring Isaiah Thomas off the bench, leaving PF Julius Randle and fellow forward Brandon Ingram to handle the playmaking responsibilities with the first unit. Randle (14.7 & 7.5) ripped off a triple-double in a 124-102 win over Dallas on Friday while Ingram  (16.1-5.3-3.8) paced the team with eight assists in a triumph at Sacramento on Saturday.
Atlanta: The Hawks never led in Friday's loss to Indiana, committing 13 turnovers in the first half (22 on the game). The bright spot was Isaiah Taylor (he avergags just 4.9 PPG), who scored a career-high 17 points and added six assists and two steals. The Hawks may be without veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova (10.9 & 5.5), as the club is working on a buyout, which would allow him to re-sign with the Philadelphia 76ers. Dennis Schroder was on a roll before the break and had averaged 22 points on 53.2 percent shooting in his last three games but looked rusty on Friday, when he was held to nine points on 3-of-12 from the floor. Still, he's been Atlanta's best player all season, averaging 19.3 PPG and 6.2 APG.
 
The pick: It's a revenge spot for Atlanta but this team has little to play for except the No. 1 position in the draft. The Lakers are a poor defensive team (110.0 PPG allowed ranks 27th) but LA has scored in triple digits for 14 straight games and has averaged 118.5 PPG in going 2-0 since the break.  The Hawks do not have the firepower to match LA right now, ranking 23rd in the league in both scoring (103.5 PPG) and FG percentage (45.0%). Make LA a 10* play.