Atlanta Hawks - Cleveland Cavaliers

The Lakers do not look too bad lately, even in their loss to Cleveland they could not finish the game. Their opponent is one of the bottom teams in the West, the Blazers who are ranked 13th with 11-21 record. A talented young team, but still far from the top level. The Blazers are known as a strong home team, but away games have been tragic for them (3-13), with 7 consecutive losses on the road. The Lakers defeated the Blazers by 9 points a month ago, but at the time they had a stellar game from Russell, who won't be playing this time. However, Reeves and LeBron were also absent then. If taken seriously, the Lakers can upset this young team.