Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction: Still struggling Lakers take on marginally improved Pelicans

The NBA trade deadline made up roll our eyes, I mean first Kyrie Irving and then Kevin Durant departed to the Western Conference out of nowhere it seems. The league will head into the All-Star Break soon which is a much-needed respite, especially for teams that want their key players to recover from either fatigue or injury, One such team that requires the rest is the New Orleans Pelicans as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers enter the game after losing 115:127 against the Trail Blazers despite a 22 points performance by Malik Beasley. The Lakers are back to their losing ways and have not won in four of their last five matches. Due to such recurring happenings, they have been relegated to 32 losses and just 26 wins. They remain in the Play-in contention but their top-six finish hopes are done. LeBron’s injury bug has halted the progress of the squad whereas the addition of D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt has upgraded the team, but their long-term output can only be revealed after the squad players 10 games or so with these players alongside LeBron and Anthony Davis.

The Pels come into this game after defeating the Thunder 103:100 as Brandon Ingram loaded up 34 points. They have now won four of their last five games to assuage a ten-game losing streak. Thanks to the current wins, the team is now back above 50% wins, having a 30 wins and 28 losses. During the losing streak, the Pels were missing Zion Williamson and also Brandon Ingram. Brandon adjusted after the long injury absence and has now been putting in 25+ points a game consistently. The defense has also looked better since he has returned as the offensive confidence has been boosted. The downside is that Zion Williamson is likely to be out for a sizeable time and the team’s push to the top-six squad has been halted. Can they at least eke out a Play-in spot and hope Zion returns to elevate the play then?

• Lakers: QUESTIONABLE: LeBron James. PROBABLE: Anthony Davis;
• Pelicans: OUT: Zion Williamson, Dyson Daniels. QUESTIONABLE: CJ McCollum.

The Lakers may have boosted their team, but they are still looking fragile and maybe this is a lost season at this point. For the Pels, the hope is rekindled ever since Ingram has returned. The availability of LeBron James will play a huge role. At any rate, I expect the Pels to put up a big fight but also expect D’Angelo to have a big game to carry the Lakers. I predict a scoreline of 119:114 in favor of the Lakers.