Lakers Open As Slight Favorites To Prevail Over Skidding Pelicans

The Los Angeles Lakers eye a third consecutive win Saturday when they visit the skidding New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center.

The Lakers are coming off a nail-biter win over the Indiana Pacers, 112-111, while the Pelicans lost their 10th straight assignment Thursday after falling to the Dallas Mavericks, 106-111.

The Lakers and Pelicans last met in November 2022, with the purple and gold winning 120-117. Los Angeles will try to go up 2-0 Saturday in their regular season series matchup with the Pels.

For the Lakers, all eyes will be on LeBron James once more as he closes in on the scoring record of former Los Angeles great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The 38-year-old cager is 63 points away from overtaking the six-time NBA champion.

Against the Pacers Thursday, James finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Anthony Davis led the way for Los Angeles with a double-double of 31 points and 14 rebounds.

“I just understood my game was needed more on the interior tonight,” James stated, according to ESPN. “Needed to get some rebounds, need to get some baskets in there and I felt like we were attacking, especially in the fourth quarter.”

The Lakers are sixth in the league in team scoring, averaging 116.9 points per contest. They have an offensive rating of 113, 18th in the league.

However, the Lakers need to step up their defense against the Pelicans. They are allowing opponents to score 118.1 points per game, 26th in the league. Their defensive rating is pegged at 113.9, which is 18th in the NBA.

For the Pelicans, snapping a 10-game losing streak will hinge on the performance of its stars such as CJ McCollum and the returning Brandon Ingram.

In that loss to the Mavericks, Ingram appeared to have regained his groove. He finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes of action.

McCollum chipped in 19 points and eight assists. Against the Lakers, he needs to push himself to do more scoring if New Orleans is to get a win and end its misery. This is needed, especially with Zion Williamson still sidelined with a hamstring injury.

The Lakers were picked as -1 favorites to win over the Pelicans, which are at +1, according to USA Today’s For The Win. The Moneyline for this matchup is -115 for Los Angeles and -105 for New Orleans.

The Pelicans hope to end their losing streak with a win over the Lakers at the Smoothie King Center Saturday. The game, which starts at 6 p.m. EST, is set to be televised over ESPN. Live streaming is also available via NBA League Pass.