The Lakers resume their road trip in New Orleans, where they will take on the struggling Pelicans (2-9) on Friday. This is an NBA Cup game and the first night of a back-to-back for the purple and gold.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans
When: 5 p.m. PT, Nov. 14
Where: Smoothie King Center
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet
The Lakers were crushed, embarrassed and humbled in their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. They proved that they’re still a tier or two below the defending champions, as also evidenced by how their five-game road trip has turned out so far. This latest stretch has been a wake-up call for L.A.
Fortunately for the Lakers, there’s a lot of time left to get better and an opportunity to respond to their worst loss of the season. Now their focus will shift to the Pelicans, who they will compete against in the NBA Cup — where the Lakers are currently undefeated and lead the West Group B standings.
What’s up with the Pelicans?
To nobody’s surprise, the Pels have started the season on the wrong note. They are dealing with the injury bug, which will could affect their chances on Friday. They will not see three of their best players in Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray suit up, so the Lakers should take advantage.
Still, this doesn’t mean that facing the Pelicans will be a walk in the park. No game will feel like that at this point because every team is capable of getting hot and escaping with a win every night. Just look at how the Lakers allowed the injured Hawks to do that last week.
The Pelicans will be led by Trey Murphy III and rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, who have been their primary options on offense as of late. One of their few strong assets is their bench, which currently ranks sixth in scoring this season.
The factor of the NBA Cup
Given that this one will be an NBA Cup game, the Lakers should expect the Pelicans to come out motivated. The best way Los Angeles can contain them is to expose why New Orleans currently ranks 29th in the league in scoring (108.8 points per game) and 28th in defense (121.3 defensive rating). It’ll be nice to get a bounceback game from everyone so it can be a team effort win. Remember, point differential applies in the NBA Cup so the Lakers should beat the Pelicans by as many points as possible.
This is the perfect opportunity for the purple and gold to get back on track, prove that they’re significantly better than the team that showed up in Oklahoma last Wednesday and not just stay undefeated in the NBA Cup but also remain on top of the standings. Let’s see if they can do just that on Friday.
Notes and Updates
- The Lakers’ injury report states that Adou Thiero (left knee surgery) is now questionable, which means the rookie can make his NBA debut on Friday.
- LeBron James (right sciatica) and Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain) are out.
- As for the Pelicans, Murray (Achilles recovery), Poole (left quad strain) and Williamson (left hamstring strain) are out.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
