Pelicans Gobble Up Lakers, 105-88

It was about as ugly as an unplucked unibrow for the Lakers, as they were thrashed 105-88 by the Pelicans Tuesday night in The Big Easy.

Speaking of unibrows, Anthony Davis continued his sensational early season play against the Lakers. He was a one man tour de force, slashing and jumping his way to 41 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and six combined steals and blocks. Davis was playing at different speed than the Lakers all night — evident in the third period when he sprinted back on defense to intercept a Jose Calderon pass to a streaking Julius Randle, preventing an easy bucket.

Things were shaky from the jump for the Lil’ Lakers, though, as Nick Young suffered an Achilles strain early in the first quarter and was unable to return. Swaggy P will be reevaluated in Chicago tomorrow, but I did about three minutes of amateur medical digging on the injury, and WebMD said a severe injury can have someone on the shelf for 6-10 weeks. Oy.

To make matters worse for the Lakers, The Brow started his TKO of the Lakers early, putting up 13 points (including six attempts from the charity stripe) as LA trailed by 11 after the first. The LA bigs didn’t have an answer for Davis’ length all game, as he wheeled his way to eight buckets in the paint and 14 FT attempts.

The Lakers showed why they came into the game ranked 28th in the league in defensive efficiency, giving up 65 points to the

2005 Phoenix Suns

Pels in the first half. The game was essentially over by the break, With the Lakers trailing by 24 points and Metta World Peace filling Young’s place to start the second half.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bright spot for the Lakers on the night beyond Julius Randle returning to action on his 22nd birthday. Big Ju had 12 points and 10 boards in his comeback, and frankly, that was pretty much it.

Game Notes

• For a first unit that has struggled to score with D’Angelo Russell out, losing Noodles is especially painful. It leaves Randle as the only viable shot creator for the starters, although coach Walton will most likely add Jordan Clarkson to the starting five if Young can’t go. This will put a strain on how many minutes the usual Clarkson-Larry Nance-Lou Williams bench mob can play together, though, and brings Marcelo Huertas into the mix. In short, to help give the starters some much needed offensive punch, the second unit’s firepower will have to suffer.
• Luol Deng Cooked Meter: “Medium Well.” And I think by tomorrow I’ll finally be willing to say he’s “well done.” The new Purple & Gold swingman added only five points on six shots tonight — and have you noticed all of his missed jumpers seem to come up short? I’m starting to worry about those Thibs Miles he has on his body.
• Due to the clubbing from Davis, Jrue Holiday was able to chip in 22 of the quietest points you’ll see all season. It’s good to see Holiday back after his wife’s health issues, even if it came at the expense of LA for one night.

Next: Look What Luke Did

The Lakers will look to climb back to .500 when they face off with the Bulls in Chicago tomorrow night. Until then, grab your lucky rabbit’s foot, cross your fingers, and say a prayer Swaggy’s injury isn’t too serious.