The Lakers are coming off of one of the few letdowns of the season in a route against the Memphis Grizzlies, 105-88. With no time to sulk, they make the trip to take on the New Orleans Pelicans for the second time in less than a week. The Lakers look to make it their third win, including their second visiting the Smoothie King Center.
More LeBron and AD
LeBron James and Anthony Davis will need a better showing against the Pelicans. Between the two, they combined to score 34 points against the Grizzlies, well below their 51.7 per game that they average. In Tuesday’s matchup against the Pelicans, LeBron scored a season-high of 40 points against Zion Williamson and company. Davis scored 41 points against his old franchise in their last visit to The Big Easy.
Shooting
Danny Green missed yesterday’s game with a hip injury. His absence was sorely evident in their spacing and shooting. The Lakers shot 25 percent from long-range. If they are hoping to keep the floor spaced for James and Davis, they’d better make some shots and keep this young and energetic Pelicans team out of transition.
The Lakers Bounce Back
As mentioned, the Lakers typically handle their business against teams outside of the top half of either conference. They are even more impressive in back to backs on a second night with a record of 7-0. Considering the amount of veterans on the roster, this makes for an impressive show of recovery and resilience. A win against teh Pelicans can keep them from avoiding their third streak of consecutive losses. Anthony Davis spoke to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin about the importance of avoiding consecutive losses back in December:
We’re resilient. We’re going to find ways to win,” big man Anthony Davis said after he played the entire second half on a sore right ankle in an attempt to bring L.A. back from a 21-point deficit. “We’re going to keep battling. That’s our mindset all year. Even though we did lose two in a row, our mindset is still, let’s not lose two in a row. Let’s not drop another after we lose one, learn from the first one and do what we can to make sure the next one we come out with a victory.
Tip-off for tonight’s game will be 5pm PT/8pm ET on ESPN.