NBA Lines: Best bets for New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers

The New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers will both be missing key players in tonight’s matchup, which could be a good thing for bettors.

The Lakers will be without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, while the Pelicans will be missing Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick, though I doubt they will really be “missing” Redick.

This has led to the Pelicans actually being six point favorites vs. the Lakers, which is not something I would have expected just a few weeks ago.

With Lonzo Ball potentially out, there are a couple of bets that I like against the Lakers.

Pelicans vs. Lakers: The combined score will be over 223

The last game vs. the Nuggets was the first time all season that I have bet the under on a Pelicans’ game. I won the bet, but know better than to milk that one for too long, as the Pelicans’ defense is still atrocious and the Lakers are missing two of their best defenders as well.

This should lead to a high-scoring game, so I am back to hammering the over for the Pelicans, as this total seems pretty low.

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Lakers: Brandon Ingram will have six or more assists

Brandon Ingram has been up and down in the assist department but he had eight in the last game against the Nuggets. Lonzo Ball was also out for that one, so if he sits again, expect Ingram to rack up the assists.

Zion Williamson and Ingram have been the primary facilitators this season, but with Lonzo potentially out, they should get even more opportunities since there really isn’t anyone else who can make plays.

If the Pels are hitting their shots, expect Ingram to have more than six assists.

Pelicans vs. Lakers: Zion Williamson will have four or more assists

The Lakers’ focus is obviously going to be to stop Zion Williamson from having his way in the paint. The Lakers are likely to be throwing double and triple teams at him all night, which means Zion will have to pass out more often.

This should lead to a high assist total, even with the Pels’ best 3-point shooter (Lonzo) watching from the bench.

If Lonzo is out, I expect both Ingram and Zion to handle the ball a lot and that should lead to higher than normal assist totals as long as the Pels aren’t completely broke shooting the ball.

The New Orleans Pelicans will be favored in this one, so expect them to lose if things go as they have this season, where the Pels have often lost the games they should win and won the games they should lose.

*All odds and bets from the Action Network