Los Angeles, CA (My Sportsbook) - Two teams trying to snap three-game slides square off at Staples Center tonight, when the Los Angeles Lakers welcome the Atlanta Hawks to Hollywood.

Atlanta has dropped three straight games on its current five-game road trip, which concludes tonight. The Hawks are coming off a 105-97 setback at the hands of the Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena on Sunday. Wasted in the loss was a 32-point effort by Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Glenn Robinson scored 15 points and added nine rebounds, but the high-powered Kings and a raucous crowd were too much for Atlanta.

"Sacramento is a very good basketball team, if you have a little breakdown or a lapse, they put up six to eight points really fast," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "They have so many weapons."

The Lakers are coming off a 100-99 loss at Washington on Friday night. Jerry Stackhouse was allowed to slam down a dunk with 2.9 seconds remaining to decide the contest. It's obvious the Lakers miss Shaquille O'Neal.

"I'm not pleased with the way we're playing," Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. "There's a limitation to how well we can play without Shaquille, and the people understand that.

"I was downplaying when I said we might start 0-7, 1-6 or 2-5. But here we are 2-5, and it's not a surprise to me. I know the talent this team has. We have a great player in Kobe, and we have a team that fits together with Shaquille, so it's built around that. Without him out there, we're kind of batting away without a hope to hit too many home runs."

O'Neal was supposed to return tonight, but he said after practice on Monday that the toe was not quite 100 percent.

"Right now, I don't think that he's in a position where he feels comfortable enough to play," Jackson said.

The Lakers don't play again until Friday at Golden State, but it's more likely that O'Neal will return next Tuesday at Dallas.

The Lakers have played five road games this season and split their two home contests. Los Angeles has won 12 of the last 15 meetings with the Hawks and has a 60-36 edge in the all-time series.