Some key names may be missing for the Purple and Gold.
Today, your Los Angeles Lakers hope to rise above a .500 record for their current five-game road stint, which they’re wrapping up in an early bout against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Without All-Star forward Zion Williamson, the Pelicans have collapsed. The team is currently mired in a 10-game losing streak, and is now just one game ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings. A victory today would vault LA to 11th place in the West, as the team inches that much closer to a .500 Utah Jazz team that seems likely to be a seller at the trade deadline.
Here are some predictions about LA’s future, both today and a bit longer-term:
1. How will LA stop the Pelicans’ most lethal healthy scorer, forward Brandon Ingram?
Noah: Ingram is definitely going to want to go off against his former team, so it’ll be a group effort to slow him down. I expect Rui Hachimura to use his length to try to keep him in check, and Anthony Davis should be ready in the paint on cleanup duty.
Alex: Los Angeles will probably try a combination of LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and maybe even if its best defender, Anthony Davis, on the potent three-level scorer, drafted of course by the Lakers in 2016.
2. Which Lakers role player will step up on offense?
Alex: CJ McCollum isn’t exactly any All-Defensive First Teamer. Look for Lonnie Walker IV to exploit this.
Noah: I want to see a big scoring game from Dennis Schröder, who’s scored in double figures in four straight games. I think he should provide a scoring boost, maybe even getting over the 20-point mark.
3. Who takes it tonight, LA or New Orleans? And by how much?
Noah: I have the Lakers winning against the not fully healthy Pelicans. This is a pretty big game, as LA sits one game back of them in the standings. Also, for everyone keeping track, New Orleans has the rights to pick swap with LA from the AD trade — but if they have a worse pick than the Lakers, it’ll pretty much mean nothing.
Alex: In a rarity for a road matchup, the Lakers are actually expected to win today (by just one point, but still), against a Pelicans team that’s gone 3-13 since Zion Williamson went down early last month. Take Los Angeles to cover.
4. Will Russell Westbrook be a Laker on Friday?
Alex: No. Be it in an exchange with the Utah Jazz, the Charlotte Hornets, the much-discussed hypothetical deal with the Brooklyn Nets, or some other arrangement, Russell Westbrook is headed out of town one way or another. So enjoy his Lakers tenure while it lasts!
Noah: Nope. He’s either be involved in a Kyrie Irving trade, or he’ll go somewhere like Utah or Charlotte. But his time in Los Angeles will be over within the week.
