On January 8, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season was in full swing. In today's Western Focus game, the Lakers will face the Hawks at home. The Lakers have played very well recently, beating the Trail Blazers, Timberwolves and Kings in a row to achieve a 3-game winning streak!
Before the game began, the Lakers released today's starting lineup, specifically: James, Westbrook, Bradley, Munch, Johnson.
In the Lakers' last game to beat the Kings, Howard performed very well. Played 21 minutes in the game, shooting 6-of-12 and had 14 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, including seven frontcourt rebounds. Today, however, Howard will still come off the bench.
James and Westbrook continue to make their starts today. After back-to-back injuries and suspensions at the start of the season, James will start for the 17th straight game today, continuing his record for consecutive appearances this season. In his last 9 games, James has scored 30+ in 8 of them. Considering that James has already passed his 37th birthday, such a performance is really admirable.
In the last game to beat the Kings, Westbrook scored 19 points and seven rebounds in the whole game without a single turnover, setting a personal record for the season. Today he will play his 40th game for the Lakers, and he is also the only player with the Lakers to start full time this season.
Earlier today, the Lakers officially released a video welcoming Stanley Johnson back to the team, and he was given a direct start today. Separately, Lakers coach Vogel spoke about Davis' situation before the game, saying: "The team will not have any updates about his situation until Davis is re-evaluated after four weeks of injury. ”
It is worth mentioning that the Lakers have never won 4 consecutive games so far this season, and if they can beat the Eagles today, they will set a record for this season's winning streak. Speaking about the Hawks before the game, Vogel said: "They have an elite level of offense, it's just a 'laser team', they have a projection threat, it's difficult to defend them. ”