After a long and grueling regular season, the NBA playoffs are finally on the horizon. These two teams put together quality years in an absolutely stacked Western Conference and they will face off in the opening play-in game. The winner of this game advances to the first round of the postseason where they will face off with the number two seed and the defending NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets.
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History Between These Two Teams The Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans met up multiple times throughout the regular season. Every time these two teams got together you could expect a solid matchup between two quality teams, and multiple superstars on each roster. These two teams actually met on Sunday afternoon to close out the NBA regular season in New Orleans, and it was the Los Angeles Lakers that came out on top. Now Los Angeles will look to replicate that performance here on Tuesday night and pick up their second consecutive victory against the Pelicans.
New Orleans and Los Angeles met four times throughout the regular season and on three of those occasions it was the Los Angeles Lakers that came out on top. None of the four games between these two teams could be considered a close contest as the winning team usually came out on top by double digit points. It’ll be interesting this time around to see if they can keep the game much closer or if the winning team will end up cruising to another victory to open up the NBA playoffs.
It is worth noting that both teams were relatively healthy superstar wise when all four times they met this season. One of the games was played in Las Vegas during the NBA in season tournament, that was the opening game of the season between the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Los Angeles Lakers. but things can change drastically throughout the postseason with the 2-2-1-1-1 home and away format.
Game 1: Pelicans 89 @ Lakers 133 (In Las Vegas)
Game 2: Lakers 109 @ Pelicans 129
Game 3: Pelicans 122 @ Lakers 139
Game 4: Lakers 124 @ Pelicans 108
Today’s Predictions Both of these teams have a roster that is loaded with superstars, but they have dealt with injury issues throughout the season. Now they will look to regroup and pick up a much-needed victory here on Tuesday night to avoid having to play in the second play-in game to determine their playoff fate. Los Angeles finished the season with a 47-35 record, and New Orleans finished the season with a record of 49-33 and they will host this game on Tuesday night.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be the focal point of this game for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson as well as Brandon Ingram will be the focal point for New Orleans. This is perhaps one of the most star-studded play-in round games throughout the history of the format. Both of these teams should provide us with a solid game here on Tuesday night as both of them looked to grab a spot in the postseason later this week against the Denver Nuggets. Regardless of who comes out on top of this game on Tuesday night, Denver will certainly have their hands full as they win their second consecutive title.
This game could easily go either way, but it is leaning towards New Orleans at the moment. It is very difficult to beat the same team twice at home in two consecutive matchups. That is exactly what I expect out of this game as well as look for New Orleans to Los Angeles to limit and pick up the victory in this game once again eliminating the Lakers and stopping LeBron James from winning yet another NBA championship. With LeBron’s career coming to an end sooner than later, I look for this to be one of his last opportunities to raise the title, but I do not see it happening this season, as I look for New Orleans advance to the first round of the playoffs, while sending Los Angeles to the second play-in game later this week.
Tips For Betting Despite Los Angeles winning in New Orleans earlier this week, the Pelicans come into this game as the betting favorite. As they are currently 1.5 point favorites coming into this opening round game, with the over/under being set at 224.5. Three of the four times they met this season, these teams surpassed that number, with the only exception being game one where they combined for 222 points. This is going to be a back-and-forth contest here on Tuesday night as both teams look for a much-needed crucial victory.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been successful at home this season, compiling a record of 21-19. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers had a losing record on the road, putting up only 19 wins in 40 opportunities. New Orleans has had a lot of success when playing as the betting favorites, winning 31 out 50 games when they were favored by the books. The Lakers on the other hand have been unsuccessful as underdogs losing 21 out of 36 throughout the regular season.
The Pick: Pelicans -1.5 (+100) Picks given are the opinion of the writer, not Elitepickz pros. To get picks from some of the sharpest minds in the industry, sign up here and use code AB15 for 15% off any pass!
