One is Making the Playoffs, Lakers Face Pelicans

Lakers vs Pelicans Lines, Matchup and More

Lakers vs Pelicans Lines opened as New Orleans -1 at home, total set at 227.5.

We are in for a treat Tuesday when these two Western Conference playoff hopefuls will battle in a game where the winner solidifies their spot in this year’s playoffs. The Lakers are going on the road as the eighth seed, never having lost an NBA Play-In tournament game, while the Pelicans will be looking to use their homecourt advantage to avoid having to play a single elimination game for their playoff lives.

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These teams just faced off Sunday in a key game to solidify this very seeding, and the Lakers defeated the Pelicans 124-108 on the Pelicans homecourt. The Lakers were led by monster games from their two stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James had a 28-point triple-double (including 17 assists), and Davis put up 30 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pelicans weren’t able to keep up, having seven different players score in double digits, but nobody scoring more than CJ McCollum’s 25 points.

The winner of this game has a date with the defending champion Denver Nuggets, a team that no team wants to face.

With these Lakers vs Pelicans lines, we will look at NBA odds, and NBA prop bets today and see where we can find value in 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament bets.

Lakers logo Lakers vs Pelicans Pelicans logo

Records: Los Angeles Lakers (47-35) at New Orleans Pelicans (49-33)
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Day/Time: Streaming: TNT

Zion Must Fly

Zion Williamson has put together an All-NBA caliber season. He has been the leader (and for much of the season the primary ballhandler) of the Pelican’s offense and has impressed many by no longer being a defensive liability. He has led a Pelicans team that since the All-Star break has been ranked top ten in both offensive and defensive rating (ninth in offense and seventh in defense).

Zion Williamson averaged 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in four games versus the Lakers this season, slightly down from his season average of 22.9 points per game. In their most recent game against the Lakers, Zion only scored 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

It is worth looking at Zion’s points, rebounds, and assists prop for this game as we expect Anthony Davis and LeBron James to be keyed in on the Pelicans star. In the last 10 games, Zion has averaged 32.7 points, rebounds, & assists and has hit over 30% of the time. We think Zion is at risk of falling short of this line on Tuesday as well.

LeBron Has Been Here

LeBron and the Lakers have been in this situation before. Twice since the inception of the Play-In Tournament the Lakers have been in the seven vs eight seed game and won. The Lakers ended the season as 15th ranked offense and the 17th-ranked defense. Since the all-star break, they have climbed to fourth in offensive rating and fallen to 23rd in defensive rating.

LeBron James (as always) will be instrumental in the Laker’s chances to lock in the seventh seed. LeBron James averaged 28.3 points, 11.8 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in his four games against the Pelicans this year (he averaged 25.7 points and 8.3 assists on the season). LeBron has hit the over on his points/assists prop in the last four games, and we could see him going over again on Tueaday.

Lakers Comfortable In Play-In

Lakers vs Pelicans lines opened at Pelicans -1, a total 227.5, but we could see this spread flipping to have the Lakers as a slight favorite. This spread is the closest of any game between these two NBA teams this year, and the same goes for the over/under of 227.5 (previous low 229.5). Three of their last four matchups have gone over, and the Lakers have covered in three of four games (twice as underdogs and once as the favorites).

All of the games between these two teams have been blowouts, and fans are hoping for a competitive match on Tuesday. The Pelicans have been the better overall team this season, and are playing at home, but we can’t ignore the pedigree of LeBron James and the Lakers. We like the Lakers to win this one, as they have in their two other Play-In appearances. Zion has never been to the playoffs, and LeBron has been sixteen times. We expect LeBron to lead his team to victory Tuesday and to his 17th playoff appearance.

Lakers vs Pelicans Odds

For NBA picks today, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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