Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/31/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Sunday, December 31, 2023

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

The New Orleans Pelicans (18-14) will go up against the Los Angeles Lakers (17-15) at Smoothie King Center on Sunday.

The Lakers played the Hornets and walked away with a win by a score of 133-112 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Lakers ended up with 21 while the Hornets totaled 14 personal fouls. They knocked down 15 of 33 attempts from 3-point land. Charlotte finished 60.7% when shooting free throws by burying 17 of 28 attempts. On top of that, Charlotte pulled down 43 boards (8 offensive, 35 defensive) and had 7 blocks. Charlotte recorded 29 assists and had 5 steals in this game. With respect to the defense, Los Angeles allowed 47.1% from the field on 40 out of 85 shooting. They also recorded 41 assists for the game as well as forcing 19 turnovers and earning 11 steals. In relation to pulling down boards, they collected 42 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Lakers made 14 of 14 shots for a rate of 100.0%. Los Angeles walked away from the game having earned a 53.6% FG percentage (52 out of 97) and made 15 of 30 3-point shots.

Anthony Davis is someone who came through for this contest. Davis finished the game shooting 57.9% from the floor and earned 2 assists. He saw the court for 26 mins and also snagged 8 rebounds. He ended up scoring 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting.

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Los Angeles comes into this matchup with a mark of 17-15 for the year. They are averaging 114.7 pts per game (17th in the NBA) while connecting on 48.7% from the field. The Lakers are connecting on 36.1% on shots from beyond the arc (353 of 979) and 76.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Los Angeles is pulling in 44.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 882 assists on the year, which has them ranked 4th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 14.0 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.2 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Lakers have forced 13.7 turnovers per game while drawing 20.0 personal fouls. They are giving up 37.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 17th in the NBA in opponents points per game (114.5). The Lakers are allowing a shooting percentage of 46.3% (1,368 of 2,953) and they concede 44.6 boards per game as a basketball team. They are 26th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 862 surrendered for the year.

In their last game, the Pelicans got the victory with a final of 112-105 against the Jazz. When talking about team rebounding, New Orleans allowed Utah to grab 42 overall (17 on the offensive side). They finished 30.8% from behind the 3-point line by going 12 of 39 and walked away from this one shooting 21 of 25 from the free throw line (84.0%). The Pelicans allowed the Jazz to convert 36 out of their 85 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 42.4% for the game. When all was said and done, the Pelicans finished the game shooting 45 out of 82 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.9%. When discussing shots from beyond the arc, New Orleans converted 10 out of their 27 tries (37.0%). They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 80.0%. The Jazz committed 15 fouls for this game which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while earning 10 steals for the matchup. The Pelicans collected 29 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in this contest.

Brandon Ingram pitched in for the Pelicans in the matchup. Ingram scored 26 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and earned 5 assists for this contest. He made 9 out of 18 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 3 rebounds.

New Orleans has a record of 18-14 this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Pelicans are shooting 48.2% from the floor, which ranks 10th in the league. New Orleans has accumulated 3,698 points on the campaign (115.6 per contest) and they grab 44.1 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 26.2 times per game (14th in the NBA) and they turn it over 13.6 times per game. The Pelicans commit 20.1 fouls every game and they go 76.3% from the charity stripe.

The Pelicans on defense are ranked 12th in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 113.1. They have forced 14.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.3% from the field (10th in the league). The New Orleans defense gives up 33.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (427 of 1,259) and their opposition makes 77.7% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 26.9 dimes and 43.8 rebounds per contest, which is 20th and 16th in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Orleans

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