New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 1/15/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Friday, January 15, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: New Orleans (+8.5)

STAPLES Center is the site where and the Los Angeles Lakers (10-3) will play the New Orleans Pelicans (4-6) on Friday. Los Angeles opens this contest as 8.8-point favorites. The over/under is set at 230.

The New Orleans Pelicans faced the Los Angeles Clippers and took a loss by a score of 111-106 in their last contest. New Orleans ended the game having earned a 47.7% FG percentage (42 out of 88) and buried 10 out of their 28 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Pelicans converted 12 of their 16 shots for a rate of 75.0%. In regard to getting rebounds, they earned a total of 48 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 18 assists in this contest in addition to having 4 steals and 4 blocks. Regarding defense, New Orleans allowed the other team to go 47.3% from the floor on 35 out of 74 shooting. Los Angeles recorded 26 assists and had 4 steals for the contest. In addition, the Clippers snagged 36 rebounds (3 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 6 blocked shots. Los Angeles walked away from this one shooting 85.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 23 of their 27 attempts. They also converted 18 out of their 37 attempts from long range.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a player who was a factor for the game. He ended up walking away with 37 points on 15 out of 23 shooting. He played for 33:14 minutes played and collected 8 boards. Alexander-Walker finished 65.2% from the floor and also totaled 2 dimes. An additional guy that was a determining factor in this game for the Pelicans was Brandon Ingram. He totaled 6 boards and also totaled 3 assists. He ended up shooting 42.1% from the floor in this matchup by hitting 8-of-19 (22 points). When the game finished, Ingram played for 38:21 minutes.

New Orleans enters this contest with a record of 4-6 this season. The Pelicans are shooting 32.5% on 3-pointers (102 of 314) and 71.4% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 107.0 pts per game (25th in the league) on 45.8% from the floor. They cough up possession 16.1 times per game and as a squad they are committing 17.5 personal fouls per game. As a team, New Orleans is pulling in 48.4 boards per game and is sitting with 228 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 28th in the league in terms of passing. When they are on defense, the Pelicans are forcing their opponents into 14.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.8 fouls. The Pelicans defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.8% (147 of 218) and they surrender 40.1 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 11th in the league in giving up assists with 269 relinquished on the campaign. They give up 37.3% from 3-point land and they are ranked 7th in the NBA in opponents PPG (107.0).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Los Angeles Lakers took home the win by a final score of 128-99 when they played the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers pulled down 38 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 50 for this contest. They turned away 6 tries while earning 6 steals for this game. The Thunder committed 21 fouls for the matchup which got the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throws for a clip of 77.3%. In regard to shooting from downtown, Los Angeles knocked down 17 out of 37 tries (45.9%). When the final whistle was blown, the Lakers went 47 out of 95 from the floor which had them shooting 49.5%. The Lakers permitted the Thunder to bury 37 out of their 86 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 43.0% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 32.3% from three-point range by connecting on 10 out of 31 and finished the game at 15 of 19 at the free throw line (78.9%). In regard to rebounding, Los Angeles permitted Oklahoma City to get 42 in all (9 offensive).

LeBron James ended up being a factor for the Lakers for the matchup. He buried 9 out of 20 in the matchup for a rate of 45.0%, which gave him 26 points. James pulled down 6 rebounds in his 27:29 mins of playing time and totaled 7 assists in the game. An additional guy that played a role for Los Angeles was Montrezl Harrell. He left the arena with 21 points in 24:55 minutes played via 8 out of 12 shooting in the game. Harrell ended up shooting 66.7% from the floor while collecting 2 assists and 6 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a mark of 10-3 so far this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Lakers are connecting on 49.3% from the floor, which ranks them 2nd in the NBA. Los Angeles has earned 1,504 points for the campaign (115.7 per game) and they snag 48.8 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 25.3 times per game (13th in the NBA) and they turn it over 15.5 times per game. The Lakers are responsible for committing 18.5 fouls per game and they hit 75.9% from the charity stripe. The Lakers defensively are ranked 3rd in the league in PPG given up with 105.2. They are able to force 13.2 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.9% from the floor (3rd in the NBA). The Los Angeles defense surrenders 34.1% on three-point shots (151 of 443) and their opponents are knocking down 77.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 23.8 dimes and 41.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 11th and 4th in basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Orleans (+8.5)

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