NBA picks: Hawks vs. Lakers prediction, odds, over/under, spread, injury report for Monday, March 18

Monday’s NBA slate will conclude with the Atlanta Hawks continuing their five-game road trip out west when visiting the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Atlanta (30-37) is hoping to go 2-2 at Crypto.com Arena as it is fresh off a 110-93 victory over the Clippers Sunday. The Hawks controlled this game from the second quarter onwards as they held the Clips to just 37.8% shooting from the floor. The Lakers (36-32) fell to the Warriors 128-121 on Saturday, a loss that dropped them to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference standings. The Lake Show lost despite LeBron James dropping 40 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds.

On the injury front, James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (eye) are both listed as questionable for the Lakers.

Los Angeles enters the contest as a 9-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, accompanied by a total of 225. The Lakers are listed as a -380 moneyline favorite, making the Hawks a +300 underdog.

Hawks vs. Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Hawks +9

Atlanta enters this matchup with the worst record against the spread in the entire league at 23-44 and is 12-21 ATS as the road team. While one can see how the Hawks would be a big underdog in the back end of a back-to-back, the Lakers have also been done poorly covering the spread as well. The visitors have been up and down, but they’ve actually been playing solid defense as of late as they’ve held opponents to an average of 106.7 points over their last 10 games. I think that will be enough for the Hawks to at least keep things close and cover.

Over/Under: Under 225

LA has been putting up an average of 118.4 points over its last 10 outings but as mentioned, Atlanta could present issues on the defense. I can see this matchup being a race to 110 on both sides, so I’ll lean towards the under cashing.