Game Time: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 27th, 2022 

Venue:   Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Pelicans -3; O/U 228

Fanduel:  Spread:  Pelicans -2.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Pelicans -3.5; O/U 228.5

Lakers: 31-42, 10th place Western Conference

Pelicans: 31-42 9th place Western Conference

A Western Conference NBA matchup between two franchises forever joined at the hip.  3 seasons ago the New Orleans Pelicans had a top-five NBA player but a bottom five NBA team.   That player wanted out desperately!  He wanted out so badly that he stopped playing and bought some condescending sweatshirts… so with their arm twisted behind their backs the Pelicans traded PF Anthony Davis to the Lakers for an entire team!  They got back PG Lonzo Ball, SF Brandon Ingram, SG Jason Hart, some others and a bunch of fun draft picks!  It did not work out for the Pelicans as they squandered Lonzo Ball… have yet to hit on a draft pick… and even though PF Julius Randle was not in the trade the Lakers renounced him knowing that the Pelicans would pick him up on waivers.  The Pelicans kept Julius for just one season and let him walk to make way for PF Zion Williamson… who has yet to play any meaningful games in a Pelicans jersey.  The Pelicans squandered the trade and the franchise.  The Los Angeles Lakers on the other hand won that trade with New Orleans because it got them a Championship!  The trade then completely sank the franchise.  The NBA;s best player over the last two decades AND of all time LeBron James orchestrated Anthony Davis to the Lakers… and he was right to do it.  Except it gave him too much power.  The puppet Rob Pelinka who had only ever been a player agent is the most inept GM in the league… the owner Jeannie Buss is not what her father was… or maybe even what Jack Kent Cook was… she is currently the most inept owner in the NBA… together they placated LeBron into more trades that depleted a young athletic roster into an older, underperforming roster. PF ASnthony Davis of course is injured again… which was 100% the problem to ever having a winning team when he was in New Orleans taking up 35% of the salary cap space.  The Lakers are bad with a great player and the Pelicans are bad with an uncertain roster… who will win?... who will win… forget it.  What do the numbers say about the great betting opportunity?!

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 3 of their last ten games.  They went 3-7 ATS during that stretch.  They are performing at a level of ineptness that makes me never want to recommend putting money on this level of team.  Yes, they have LeBron james… who will win the scoring title… but they are jabronies everywhere else.  This team LOST to the Houston Rockets… and lost ATS.  This team traded for Russell Westbrook by giving up 3 usable players AND picks to the Washington Wizards… and the results are in:  The Lakers lost that trade and would give Russell back just to get either Kyle Kuzma or the picks back!  It is that bad.  The two breakout players on this year’s Lakers team were unemployed over the season.  Rookie SF/SG Austin Reeves was an undrafted free agent and SF/PF Stanley Johnson waqs cut form the worst team in the league last year, firmly labeled a draft bust… Those are the Lakers two most consistent players behind LeBron James… The Lakers are a joke.  Each loss makes the draft picks they gave up (until 2027) more and more valuable.  Coach Frank Vogel will be fired.  Gm Rob Pelinka should be fired.  Owner Jeannie Buss should find a niece or nephew to take over he position OR sell the team… She is not cut out for it.

The New Orleans Pelicans have won 4 of their last ten games.  They are in perfect position to overtake the lakers in the standings if they could just win a couple more games… Of course they are the Pelicans so that is a tall order.  They went 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  The Pelicans do have some forward momentum in that they traded for SG CJ McCollum form the Portland Trail Blazers at the trade deadline… He now leads the team that Zion Williamson does not want to play for in points and assists.  PG Kira Lewis Jr has missed the entire year with injury… so maybe this team is not as good on the court as they are on paper.  The decision to move Lonzo ball for nothing much in return was a big mistake… It really highlights that the Pelicans are owned by a football family who could care less about basketball but to simply spend less than the cap and pocket the TV money every year.  Sad for New Orleans.  If I was their GM I bet I would find several layers of roadblocks to building a great roster…so I can not be too harsh with the current GM.  Rookie head coach Willie Green deserves better…hopefully the team is with him for a longer haul.

Al McMordie got out the broom Friday, and went 3-0 with easy WINNERS on UCLA/North Carolina Under, Colorado and Minnesota. On Saturday, Big Al's going to go for a 5-0 SWEEP in the NBA, as he's featuring plays out of 39-18, 41-14, 27-6, 44-15 and 9-0 ATS angles. Go get 'em! Get Big Al’s' picks!   You can discover the best  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Lakers are 31-42 on the season and 31-41-1 ATS.  They are a bad betting opportunity.  They have logged 41 Overs, 31 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are a dreadful 11-24 on the road.

The Pelicans are also 31-42 on the season and 37-3501 ATS.  They have notched 29 Overs, 42 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are a bad betting opportunity.  They are 17-20 in home games.

The Lakers are 12th in scoring with 111.6 ppg, 18th in rebounds with 44.1 per game, and 23rd in AST/TO ratio with 1.7.  On defense they rank 26th while allowing 114.3 ppg from opponents.

The Pelicans are 20th in scoring with 108.8 ppg, 7th in rebounds with 45.6 per game, and 17th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 14th while holding opponents to 109.8 ppg.

Our prediction for Sunday, March 27th is…. Pelicans 114 - Lakers 105

The Pelicans will win and overtake the Lakers in the standings.  LeBron will want his 31-35 points to keep his stranglehold on the scoring title. But after that it is just the Lakers on the floor. Also LeBron is listed as Questionable so may not play at all.

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Lakers are 23-17 ATS versus New Orleans since 1996.
6 of 8 games in this series have gone Under the last 3 seasons.
The Lakers are 10-22 ATS after any game where they covered the spread this season.  

Lakers: PF LeBron James (knee) Quest ** PF Anthony Davis (ankle) Out

Pelicans:  PG Kira Lewis Jr (knee) Out ** PF Zion Williamson (wants out) Out ** SF Brandon Ingram (hamstring) Out 

 

Lakers: PF Stanley Johnson, SF Wenyen Gabriel,. C Dwight Howard, PG Russell Westbrook, SG Austin Reeves

Pelicans: SF Herbert Jones, PF Jaxson Hayes, C Jonas Valanciunas, SG CJ McCollum, PG Devonte’ Graham

Lakers: Frank “Dead Man Walking” Vogel

Pelicans: Willie Green