The Lakers (22-11) are back on the road for a quick trip, which begins in New Orleans where they will take on the Pelicans (8-29). This is the first game of a back-to-back for the purple and gold, who will battle San Antonio on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Start time and TV schedule<\/p>\n
Where: Smoothie King Center<\/p>\n
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet<\/p>\n
The Lakers took care of business over the weekend, beating the Memphis Grizzlies twice and getting back on track. Now, they hit the road where they\u2019ve been very good (12-5) this season. They\u2019re going to face a struggling Pelicans team that is currently on a seven-game losing streak and a Spurs team that is one game above them in the Western Conference standings.<\/p>\n
This is the perfect time for Los Angeles to go on a winning streak because<\/p>\n
1. The teams above and below them in the Western Conference have been losing lately
2. They could really use it to make up for their abysmal performance in the last two weeks, when they lost four out five games before sweeping the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no excuse for the Lakers to lose their game against Pelicans. Right now, the Pels are a bottom offensive and defensive team in the league. Even with Zion Williamson \u2014 who hasn\u2019t played against the Lakers this season \u2014 the Pelicans are still a bottom-tier scoring team in the league. In fact, they\u2019re far worse right now compared to how they were at the start of the season and it shows in their performance and numbers.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no doubt that the Pelicans will want their seven-game losing streak to end, so the Lakers must prepare for a motivated and desperate opponent on Tuesday. The Lakers have won their last seven games against the Pels so that\u2019s a streak that they also might want to keep alive just for the laughs. After all, it\u2019s always fun to remind the world who won the Anthony Davis trade back in 2019.<\/p>\n
For the Lakers to do that, it\u2019ll be important for LeBron James and Luka Don\u010di\u0107 to set the tone early. The Pelicans don\u2019t have an answer for them, so that shouldn\u2019t be too hard for the duo. The Lakers also need an answer for the Pels and that starts with how JJ Redick will game plan against Williamson. The key is to make sure the Pels don\u2019t feast in the paint like how the Lakers\u2019 opponents have done as of late. If they can control the boards as well, then this should be an easy victory for the purple and gold.<\/p>\n
L.A. will miss Austin Reaves in this one as he played a big role in their last two victories against the Pels. But it\u2019s an opportunity once again for the rest of the supporting cast to step up. In the last game against the Grizzlies, it was Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton. Who is it going to be on Tuesday?<\/p>\n