The New Orleans Pelicans will travel to the Crypto.com arena to take on the 1-5 Los Angeles Lakers, coming off their first win of the season, on November 2 (Wednesday). The Lakers have had a horrible start to the season, but a strong win over a healthy Denver Nuggets will have helped the team’s morale heading into this matchup against a very good team in the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans will bring a dynamic duo of CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson, which may be impossible for the Lakers to have an answer for. The Lakers’ defense has been extremely solid this season, so they will at least try to limit the output from those 2 stars.
The 1-5 Lakers have one of the worst 3-point conversion rates in modern history, while the 4-2 Pelicans are looking like one of the most well-rounded teams in the NBA. While the Pelicans are heading into this game as favorites, they should be careful with the momentum that the Lakers could have built with their first win of the season.
Los Angeles Lakers Expected Lineup And Injury Updates
The Los Angeles Lakers have been able to upgrade Russel Westbrook into full availability after his early-season injury woes saw him miss 1 game. However, Anthony Davis and LeBron James remain on the injury list as game-time decisions for AD’s back issues and LeBron’s foot.
Cole Swider, Thomas Bryant, and Dennis Schroder continue to be ruled out with their respective injuries, while Juan Toscano-Anderson has joined the list of game-time decisions with an ankle injury.
New Orleans Pelicans Expected Lineup And Injury Updates
The Pelicans might be heavily depleted heading into this game against the Lakers. Brandon Ingram is set to miss the game against the Lakers with a concussion, while backup guard Kira Lewis Jr. continues to be ruled out with a knee injury. Rookie EJ Liddell won’t be making his debut anytime soon, with his knee injury ruling him out for the season.
Herb Jones said he wasn’t in any sort of pain today and feeling much better.
Will see how he feels tomorrow morning before a decision is made on if he can return vs. Lakers.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) November 1, 2022
Pelicans primary wing defender Herb Jones is a game-time decision due to issues with his knee, while rookie Dyson Daniels will also be a game-time decision with concerns over his ankle.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans Prediction
The history between these 2 teams is quite rich since the 2019 trade to send Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and multiple first-round picks. While the Lakers looked to be early winners after winning the 2020 Championship, that trade is aging very poorly.
Ingram developed into an All-Star caliber player, and one of the picks the Pelicans received is a pick-swap for this year, and the very poor Lakers could unwittingly tank and hand New Orleans the draft rights to Victor Wembanyama.
This Pelicans team has been extremely impressive and has more bodies available for this game than they did against the Dallas Mavericks when they upset the team without 4 starting players available. Even with the Lakers’ newfound success by putting Russell Westbrook in a bench role, the Pelicans are one of the deepest teams in the NBA and have been beating tougher opponents with lesser weapons. Unless AD or LeBron have a statement night, the Pelicans will be our pick to win this one.
