LA Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction NBA Picks 11/16/24

The Los Angeles Lakers pay a visit to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Saturday night. Here’s a LA Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction. This article will include an LA Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Pick.

The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to heat up as they are now gunning for a fifth straight victory after outlasting the Spurs in a 120-115 road win last night. Anthony Davis led the team with 40 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, Austin Reaves added 19 points with six assists while LeBron James tallied a triple-double of 15 points with 16 rebounds and 12 assists. As a team, the Lakers shot 50 percent from the field and 14 of 31 from the 3-point line as they took control of the contest with a 37-point burst in the second quarter, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing as the Lakers had to close the final 1:59 on a 9-3 run after the Spurs rallied to reclaim the lead. 

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in a terrible slump as they’ve lost nine of their last 11 games overall, but they will be feeling much better after snapping a six-game slide with a 101-94 home win last night over Denver. Brandon Ingram led the team with 29 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists on 12 of 26 shooting, Brandon Boston Jr added 19 points with four assists while Trey Murphy chipped in with 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot just 42 percent from the field and 11 of 35 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 32 points in the first quarter to take the narrow lead into halftime before they pushed the lead out to 11 points which was enough to hold off a depleted Nuggets team missing their best player, Nikola Jokic. The Pels will face the Mavs, Cavs, Warriors, Pacers, and Raptors following this one.

The Lakers are still missing some players with Christian Wood and Rui Hachimura still out while the Pelicans are missing Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson, Jose Alverado, and CJ McCollum to name a few. The Lakers come into this meeting as the clear favorites as they’ve reeled off four straight wins and have all their key players healthy, while the Pelicans are missing almost their entire starting lineup and had lost six straight before last night’s win over a depleted Nuggets team. I am a little surprised that the Lakers aren’t favored by more in this matchup, so I will happily go with the Lakers to continue their nice run with another win and cover on the road against this depleted Pelicans team.