Pelicans vs Lakers Pick, Preview & Betting Odds For Wednesday, February 15th

Check out our free Pelicans vs Lakers pick and preview for this NBA game in Los Angeles. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this NBA matchup.

Pelicans vs Lakers NBA Pick & Preview

Sport: NBA
Teams: New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Lakers
Where: Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena
Date: Wednesday, February 15th
Betting Odds LAL -3, NO +124 | LAL -149 O/U OFF

So far, the Pelicans have put together an overall record of 30-28, while going 28-30-0 vs the spread. In the teams past 3 games, their overall mark sits at 2-1. New Orleans is 2-1 vs the spread in these matchups.

New Orleans is going for yet another win, as they previously defeated the Thunder. With the 103-100 victory, they also covered the spread as 3 point underdogs. The Pelicans made things more interesting than they hoped, as they gave back some of their 9 point halftime lead, by being outscored in the 2nd half. Leading the team in scoring was Brandon Ingram, as he contributed 34 points while hitting 58.3% of his shots.

The Lakers come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 26-32. So far, the team has gone 26-29-3 against the spread. Looking back on Lakers’ previous 3 games, they have a record of 1-2 while averaging 110 points per game. Over this stretch, their ATS mark is 1-2.

Not only did the Lakers drop their last game to the Trail Blazers. But they also picked up an ATS loss, as they fell by a score of 127-115 as 2 point underdogs. In the loss, Los Angeles got off to a slow start, trailing by 19 points going into halftime. Leading the team in scoring was Malik Beasley, as he contributed 22 points while hitting 50.0% of his shots.

Head To Head Recap & Stats

In the most recent matchup between the two teams, the Lakers picked up the win 120-117 win over the Pelicans. Heading into the game, Los Angeles was the 3.0 point underdogs, giving them an ATS win. So far, the two team’s have split their season series, with each team at 1-1. In last year’s head-to-head meetings, the Pelicans averaged 117.67 points per game vs Los Angeles, which was an increase over their season-long average. However, the Lakers actually averaged fewer points per game than their season-long mark. Across their head-to-head matchups with New Orleans, the team averaged 104.67 points per game. The ATS record across the previous 5 head-to-head meetings is 4-1 in favor of the Pelicans. In these matchups, New Orleans has averaged 120 points per game, while allowing 112. New Orleans and Los Angeles averaged a combined 232 points per game in these games, leading to an over-under mark of 2-3.

Odds & Free Betting Analysis For This NBA Game

The New Orleans offense will take the floor in today’s game with the league’s 11th ranked offense at 115.1 points per game. So far, the Pelicans are averaging 100.0 possessions per game, which places them below the NBA average. Not only does the team’s offense play at a slower pace, but they their overall lack of efficiency has them ranked 13th in made field goals per game.

Against the Lakers, the Pelicans will need a stronger defensive effort as they are ranked just 13th in points allowed.

One situation to keep an eye on leading up the game is the availability of CJ McCollum, as he is currently questionable on the injury report. If he is able to play, the team will have it’s 1-2 punch availble as McCollum leads the team in scoring at 21.1 points per game while Valanciunas is 2nd at 14.5. For the season, McCollum is 50th in the NBA in usage rate and 114th in player efficiency. Behind him, Valanciunas has taken 12.0% of the team’s field goal attempts, connecting at a rate of 54.2%.

Coming into today’s action, Los Angeles is averaging 117.0 points per contest. This figure places them 7th in the league. Coming into today’s game, the Lakers will be looking to improve their 3-point shooting numbers, as they are averaging just 10.4 made 3’s per game. Despite struggling with their outside shot, Los Angeles remains one of the better offensive units in large part to their ability to get to the charity stripe. So far, the team is averaging 20.1 made free-throws per game.

Defensively, Los Angeles has had its problems giving up an average of 115.15 points per game (28th).

One situation to keep an eye on leading up the game is the availability of LeBron James, as he is currently questionable on the injury report. If he is able to play, the team will have it’s 1-2 punch availble as James leads the team in scoring at 30.2 points per game while Russell is 2nd at 17.8. For the season, James is 7th in the NBA in usage rate and 17th in player efficiency. Behind him, Russell has taken 15.0% of the team’s field goal attempts, connecting at a rate of 46.5%.