Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/23/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Los Angeles (+5.5)

The Los Angeles Lakers (28-15) travel to Smoothie King Center on Tuesday where they'll meet the New Orleans Pelicans (18-24). New Orleans opens this game as 5.5-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 221.5.

The Los Angeles Lakers stepped onto the hardwood against the Phoenix Suns and went home with a loss by a final score of 111-94 in their last game. Los Angeles walked away from the contest having earned a 41.2% field goal percentage (35 out of 85) and converted 5 of their 25 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Lakers made 19 of 28 tries for a percentage of 67.9%. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 41 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 20 assists for this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and earning 3 steals. When discussing defense, Los Angeles allowed 48.3% from the field on 42 of 87 shooting. Phoenix recorded 30 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. Furthermore, Phoenix collected 51 rebounds (9 offensive, 42 defensive) and got 2 rejections. Phoenix ended up shooting 78.3% at the free throw line by knocking down 18 of their 23 tries. They also converted 9 of 32 shots from long range.

Dennis Schröder is someone who came through for this contest. He ended up with 22 points on 8 out of 14 shooting. He played for 29:56 mins and snagged 1 rebound. Schröder ended up shooting 57.1% from the floor and also distributed 3 dimes. Another guy that had an impact in the matchup for the Lakers was Kyle Kuzma. He pulled down 6 rebounds in 36:12 minutes on the hardwood. He went 31.3% from the field for this game by going 5-of-16 (13 points). At the conclusion of this game, Kuzma totaled 6 assists.

Los Angeles enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 28-15 on the campaign. The Lakers are connecting on 35.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (457 of 1,305) and 74.8% from the free throw line. They have an average of 111.5 points per contest (20th in basketball) while hitting 48.3% from the field. They are losing possession via turnover 15.0 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.0 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Los Angeles is collecting 45.4 boards per contest and has 1,060 assists so far this season, which is 12th in basketball in terms of passing. Defensively, the Lakers are able to force 14.6 turnovers per game and they draw 21.6 personal fouls. They rank 23rd in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,082 conceded for the campaign. The Lakers are allowing a shooting percentage of 45.4% (629 of 930) and they surrender 41.7 rebounds per contest as a squad. They give up 35.1% on 3-point attempts and they are 2nd in the league in PPG allowed (106.2).

The last time they took the court, the New Orleans Pelicans went home victorious with a score of 113-108 against the Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans snagged 31 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 for the game. They also turned the ball over 16 times, while recording 8 steals for the matchup. The Nuggets committed 28 personal fouls in this game which got the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 30 attempts. They were able to make 23 of those for a rate of 76.7%. When it comes to shots from 3-point land, New Orleans converted 8 out of 28 attempts (28.6%). Overall, the Pelicans finished 41 for 85 from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.2%. The Pelicans permitted the Nuggets to make 44 out of their 88 tries from the field which had them shooting 50.0% for the contest. They went 35.3% from 3-point land by shooting 12 of 34 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 10 from the charity stripe (80.0%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, New Orleans permitted Denver to collect 37 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Brandon Ingram ended up being important for the Pelicans for this contest. He converted 11 of 23 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 47.8%, and added 6 rebounds. Ingram racked up 30 points in his 35:52 mins of playing time and had 8 dimes for the contest. An additional guy who came through for New Orleans was Zion Williamson. He finished this one with 1 assist in 34:54 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 9 of 13 from the floor. Williamson ended the game having shot 69.2% from the floor and also contributing 30 points and 6 boards.

New Orleans has a win-loss record of 18-24 for the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Pelicans are hitting on 48.5% from the floor, which is ranked 5th in basketball. New Orleans has accounted for 4,843 points for the year (115.3 per contest) and they average 46.5 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.2 times per contest (9th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 14.2 times per game. The Pelicans commit 17.6 fouls every game while shooting 73.2% from the free throw line. The Pelicans on the defensive side of the court are 25th in the NBA in PPG given up with 115.2. They have forced 13.0 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 47.3% from the floor (23rd in the league). The New Orleans defense concedes 38.9% on 3-point attempts (645 of 1,659) and opponents are converting on 81.0% of their foul shots. They allow 26.7 dimes and 40.2 boards per contest, which is ranked 29th and 1st in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles (+5.5)

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