Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans betting tips and predictions for Wednesday’s NBA game on ESPN. It’s desperation time once again for the Lakers as they face AD’s former team the Pelicans tonight at crypto.com Arena. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Los Angeles Lakers
Following their latest loss in Portland, their 4th in 5 games, the Lakers remain in 13th place in the West standings. That has prompted Anthony Davis to deactivate his Instagram account, and certain media outlets are already writing about a potential disarray in the Lakers dressing room. Winning fixes all of those problems, tonight against AD’s former team the Lakers could use a win as the Pelicans are above them in the standings.
Lebron James has missed the last 3 games, he has been upgraded to “questionable” ahead of tonight’s, so we might see him back in the line-up here. LA’s defense has improved a lot without him, but at the same time their offense struggles. Against the Pels they’ve split the two meetings this season, LA is only 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games vs Western Conference opponents.
New Orleans Pelicans
Pelicans fans were disappointed to learn that their best player and All-Star Zion Williamson has re-injured his hamstring which will keep him out of the line-up for an extra couple of weeks. After starting the season strong and spending some time in the top 3, they are now down to 7th in the standings, which is still okay considering how many games Zion and Ingram have missed.
The former Lakers is back in the line-up, he has upped his scoring significantly over the past 4 games averaging 31 points per game in just 33 minutes per game. With the news of C.J. McCollum being questionable here, it’ll be up to Ingram to carry the offense all by himself. The Pels are 4-1 ATS/SU in their last 5 overall, they’ve also beaten the Lakers in 4 of 5 meetings covering the spread in as many games.
Both teams are struggling with injuries, but I’m going to go with the Pelicans here. The Lakers are just too unreliable, James is going in and out of the line-up on a nightly basis and I just cannot trust them at the moment. Take the road team and the extra points.
Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Predictions & Odds
The amount of points scored here largely depends on the status of Lebron James. When he plays the Lakers play really fast, not focusing at all on containing their opponents. The first two meetings have seen 237 and 257 points and I’m expecting the score of tonight’s game to be in a similar range. New Orleans has gone over in 5 straight vs Pacific Division teams, plus they are 18-10 on the O/U in games played away from home.
Despite Zion and McCollum being out they still have capable scorers who can step up against this weak Lakers defense. Being ranked only 21st in defensive efficiency while playing the 3rd fastest tempo is a recipe for high scoring games. The Lakers have had plenty of those this season, expect James to get his 30 and this one to finish in the 240s. Take the over.
