The Lakers (22-11) are back on the road for a quick trip, which begins in New Orleans where they will take on the Pelicans (8-29). This is the first game of a back-to-back for the purple and gold, who
will battle San Antonio on Wednesday.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans
When: 5 p.m. PT, Jan. 6
Where: Smoothie King Center
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet
The Lakers took care of business over the weekend, beating the Memphis Grizzlies twice and getting back on track. Now, they hit the road where they’ve been very good (12-5) this season. They’re going to face a struggling Pelicans team that is currently on a seven-game losing streak and a Spurs team that is one game above them in the Western Conference standings.
This is the perfect time for Los Angeles to go on a winning streak because
1. The teams above and below them in the Western Conference have been losing lately
2. They could really use it to make up for their abysmal performance in the last two weeks, when they lost four out five games before sweeping the Grizzlies.
There’s no excuse for the Lakers to lose their game against Pelicans. Right now, the Pels are a bottom offensive and defensive team in the league. Even with Zion Williamson — who hasn’t played against the Lakers this season — the Pelicans are still a bottom-tier scoring team in the league. In fact, they’re far worse right now compared to how they were at the start of the season and it shows in their performance and numbers.
There’s no doubt that the Pelicans will want their seven-game losing streak to end, so the Lakers must prepare for a motivated and desperate opponent on Tuesday. The Lakers have won their last seven games against the Pels so that’s a streak that they also might want to keep alive just for the laughs. After all, it’s always fun to remind the world who won the Anthony Davis trade back in 2019.
For the Lakers to do that, it’ll be important for LeBron James and Luka Dončić to set the tone early. The Pelicans don’t have an answer for them, so that shouldn’t be too hard for the duo. The Lakers also need an answer for the Pels and that starts with how JJ Redick will game plan against Williamson. The key is to make sure the Pels don’t feast in the paint like how the Lakers’ opponents have done as of late. If they can control the boards as well, then this should be an easy victory for the purple and gold.
L.A. will miss Austin Reaves in this one as he played a big role in their last two victories against the Pels. But it’s an opportunity once again for the rest of the supporting cast to step up. In the last game against the Grizzlies, it was Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton. Who is it going to be on Tuesday?
The fact that the Lakers are sitting in third place in the Western Conference standings despite their performance in December is an encouraging sign. Perhaps it’s another reminder that they could be serious championship contenders if they acquire a real needle-mover type of player in the next few weeks leading up to the trade deadline. They’re in this spot because they’ve taken care of business against teams below .500 this season and there’s no reason why that should stop for the remainder of the season.
Let’s see if the Lakers can make it eight in a row against the Pelicans on Tuesday.
Notes and Updates
- For the Lakers’ injury report, Gabe Vincent (lumbar back strain) has now been upgraded to questionable.
- Rui Hachimura (right calf strain), Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Adou Thiero (MCL sprain) are out.
- As for the Pelicans, Saddiq Bey (right hip flexor) and Dejounte Murray (Achilles tear) are out. Meanwhile, Herbert Jones (right ankle sprain) is noted as questionable.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
