Los Angeles Lakers: 3 keys to beating the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 35

1.) Do not get complacent!

This is the most simple key to victory, but for some reason, is the most difficult for a team to put into practice. We saw the Lakers get complacent Sunday night after they came very close to blowing a 36 point lead against the Phoenix Suns. Yes, you heard that right.

Hopefully, the film session that Frank Vogel and company had following that game set the record straight when it comes to taking your foot off the pedal because that kind of effort is simply unacceptable for a championship-caliber team.

Like the Suns, the Pelicans have the potential to get hot at a moment’s notice, and have several ‘heat check’ players to facilitate a comeback, should the Lakers find themselves in that position.

However, given that the team is playing Anthony Davis’ former team, the motivation is there to keep up a consistent effort for 48 minutes, because we’ve seen how quickly leads can disappear in today’s NBA.