Anthony Davis and LeBron James vs. the Pelicans

The Los Angeles Lakers come in with an eight-game winning streak. At 15-2, they also own the best record in the league.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James are both in a much-awaited face-off with the Pelicans, so the spotlight could be a little bigger and brighter than their previous games.

Davis is averaging 25.1 points and a league-leading 2.9 blocks per game, and will be eager to put on a show in front of a likely hostile crowd. James, meanwhile, will be on a fun face-off with former Laker buddies Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball.

Like his superstar teammate, LeBron is also posting over 25 PPG along with one league-leading average on a separate stat – 11.1 APG.

Filled with motivation

The 6-11 New Orleans Pelicans enter the game having lost their last two outings. They will be fresh off a 134-109 blowout loss to the LA Clippers.

Despite being on the heels of yet another one-sided defeat, plenty of Pelicans have a lot of motivation to knock off the Lakers, and they will have the entire crowd with them.

Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram are again leading the pack. Holiday, AD’s starting point guard from 2013-2019, is out to take it to his former teammate. He’s averaging 18.7 points, 7.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

For Ingram, he was thought to be bad a fit alongside James – and maybe even an underachiever – during his lone season with LeBron during the 2018-19 campaign, so he’s got a big chip on his shoulder, particularly for this match-up. He has exceeded expectations this season, as evident with putting up 26.1 points per game and a 50.6% shooting clip.

PREDICTION:

The Lakers win, 118-110, with LeBron and AD’s supporting cast also playing a key role. The Lakers should be able to cover the spread.

Two Pelican guards to look out for, however, are JJ Redick, who’s been scoring a lot lately, and the aforementioned Lonzo Ball, who, like Ingram, is looking to show some game against his former squad.