Lakers vs. Pelicans Preview: B-b-b-bird, Bird…

Tuesday night the Lakers face fellow bottom dwellers, the New Orleans Pelicans at STAPLES Center

In light of dropping four straight games, the Los Angeles Lakers have shown serious improvement as of late and Tuesday night against the Pelicans serves as another chance to get back on track. Last year, the Pels made waves making the playoffs, even giving the Golden State Warriors a scare in the first round, so this year’s results are disappointing to say the least.

Plagued by injury to start the season, the Pelicans are only three games better than the Lakers in the win column which makes Tuesday night’s game even more interesting in terms of the ongoing “to tank, or not to tank..” battle that the Lakers have become all too familiar with.

More from Lake Show Life

• Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
• Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
• Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
• Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
• Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated

Many assume that in a matter of years, this will be Anthony Davis‘ league and he seems on par to prove his fans right. After coming off of an impressive junior season campaign, Davis’ stats have remained similar to last year which becomes even more impressive when you realize that he had 200 blocks and 100 steals on the season as a center.

Similar to the struggles Jordan Clarkson faced coming into this season, with each successful game, teams are more likely to put more in depth data on them in their scouting reports, especially when you’re Anthony Davis. Nonetheless, seeing how Davis put up 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a game last season, slight dips still have him averaging 22.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a game.

Coming off a four game losing streak, the Lakers will look to regain footing as they face a Pelicans team who are also slumping, dropping three straight games. The Pelicans could very well be without their star Davis, which would be a blessing for Lakers young guards D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, and even Julius Randle who thrives in the paint.

Kobe Bryant is still dealing with a lingering Achilles sprain, and it seems unlikely that he plays this game, especially considering the fact that Thursday night’s contest will be the Black Mamba’s last game at Oracle Arena. Kobe is determined to give every arena one last show, so you can be sure that he’ll make use of this extra day or so of rest.

New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 12
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Arena: STAPLES Center
TV Info: TWC SN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Here

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Pelicans -2.5
Moneyline: New Orleans -140, Los Angeles +120
O/U: 202

Injury Report

Los Angeles Lakers: D’Angelo Russell (ankle)—Probable, Kobe Bryant (Achilles)—Questionable, Julius Randle (foot)—Probable, Brandon Bass (eye)—Probable

New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Davis (back)—Questionable, Quincy Pondexter (knee)—Out

Prediction

The Lakers get back to their winning ways, if ever so briefly, as they will have to face the Warriors, in Golden State, the following game. The Larry Nance Jr.-Julius Randle experiment continues to undergo testing, this time with more positive results.

Next: Simulating the Lakers 2016 Draft Chances Mid January

As always, be sure to check back with Lake Show Life for all of your Lakers news, updates, analysis, and more.