Lakers vs Pelicans Pick – NBA Predictions & Odds 2/15/23

The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been on a nice run as they’ve won four of their past five games overall and they will be looking to stay hot after sneaking past the Thunder in a 103-100 road win on Monday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 34 points on 14 of 24 shooting, Jonas Valanciunas and Jose Alvarado each scored 14 points while Trey Murphy chipped in with 12 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 52 percent from the field and nine of 30 from the 3-point line as they dominated the first half to build a 20-point lead which allowed them to escape with the narrow win after the Thunder rallied to get within three points on multiple occasions.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in a funk as they’ve lost four of their last five games overall and they will be hoping for a better performance after getting routed by the Trail Blazers in a 127-115 road loss on Monday. Malik Beasley led the team in scoring with 22 points off the bench, Anthony Davis added 19 points with 20 rebounds and three blocks while D’Angelo Russell chimed in with 16 points and four assists. As a team, the Lakers shot 44 percent from the field and 12 of 37 from the 3-point line as they suffered another slow start and were always fighting an uphill battle after getting outscored by 34-19 in the first quarter. In fact, the Lakers were struggling so much that they were down by 27 points before they poured in 36 points in the fourth quarter to keep the final scores somewhat respectable.

Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record, 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Lakers are 9-19-1 ATS in their last 29 games against a team with a winning record, 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. 

Head to head, the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings in Los Angeles, the Pelicans are 2-5-1 ATS in the last eight meetings in Los Angeles and the Pelicans are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall. 

The Pelicans are shorthanded once again as Zion Williamson is still out and CJ McCollum is listed as questionable due to an ankle sprain, while the Lakers are sweating on the availability of LeBron James who is listed as questionable for this one. The Pelicans were good enough to beat the Lakers last Sunday in a 131-126 home win thanks to 35 points from Ingram, but it’s going to be tough to replicate that effort if McCollum isn’t able to suit up. This is certainly a game where you want to check the lineups before tipoff, but assuming that James plays in this one, I’ll back the Lakers to get the much-needed home win in a close one.