New Orleans at L.A. Lakers
Time: 8:30 PM CT (NBA LP)
Spread: NOP -6
Total: 217.5
Betting odds c/o 5dimes
The New Orleans Pelicans were expected to make its surge towards the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference after acquiring DeMarcus Cousins at the trade deadline. That has not quite happened. New Orleans has gone just 1-4 since acquiring Cousins (the lone win coming in a game in which Cousins was serving a suspension) and at 24-38 the Pelicans are still looking more firmly towards a trip to the lottery than the postseason.
As to whether New Orleans even keeps that pick, it would have to be a top-3 selection. New Orleans travels to face the Los Angeles Lakers as 6-point favorites in action tonight at 8:30 (Central) PM on NBA League Pass.
Pinpointing the source of the Pelicans struggles is not difficult: Outside of star players Anthony Davis, Cousins and point guard Jrue Holiday, there is not much help on the roster. Castaways such as Solomon Hill and E’Twaun Moore play vital roles for New Orleans, and simply the collective cast is the league’s worst, outside of Cousins and Davis. Only Brooklyn poses a case of a less talented roster, particularly when it comes to second units.
While obtaining Cousins was a move that had to be made, the Pelicans did lose two of its needed shooters in Langston Galloway and Buddy Hield, and the team also lost its best second-unit playmaker in Tyreke Evans.
The move was a no-brainer, but further-balancing of this roster has to occur in the offseason. The Pelicans now have two premier top-end talents, but they have nothing close to the roster necessary to complement and make the best uses of those two respective talents. Simply having the league’s best 4/5 tandem does little to ensure success without adequate court spacing.
Moreover, the Pelicans now have a big lineup that is trying to run contrary to a “small ball” era that is heavily featuring guard play and perimeter shooting. It is not that it cannot be done, but it is a model of success that runs against the grain and it has not been proven to work in the modern era.
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The NBA is a solid two decades removed from its last great Twin Towers lineup in Tim Duncan and David Robinson, and while the Boogie-Brow pairing offers plenty of talent to make it work, the Spurs had a championship-caliber roster surrounding its dynamic duo, and the Pelicans have nothing close to that assemblage of talent. Moving away from Holiday this offseason may be imperative, given that the Pelicans could easily add another defensive guard to the backcourt, while adding a major playmaker and isolation scorer at small forward could prove tougher.
To be sure, this is a pairing of two young talents both before their respective primes, and New Orleans does have time to outfit them with the necessary teammates to win games. But those moves are all yet to come, because as it stands the Pelicans are simply too reliant on guys that offer little more than replacement-level skills at best.
The Los Angeles Lakers moved away from its leading scorer Lou Williams at the trade deadline, a decision Magic Johnson must have felt would enable the team to focus on the host of young talent it has. Accordingly, this season, or what remains of it, will focus heavily on developing D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, while Jordan Clarkson will absorb all the minutes left behind by Williams.
The Lakers also will look to further develop Brandon Ingram, who has been seeing big minutes but mostly doing very little with those minutes. Larry Nance Jr. has looked like a good energy guy in stretches, but the Lakers are a team that will move forward only if Randle and Russell become the premier talents. Both have the ability to become stars, and Clarkson is a good scorer, though he may already be at the upper end of his “upside.”
The real improvements to come are when Ingram develops some comfort on the court and starts making better decisions, in addition to Randle taking a more Draymond Green-like approach to his offense and playmaking. The Lakers are in a luxurious position and Paul George seems all set to become a Laker in 2018, but the team has to make its necessary strides between now and then so that it evolves into a true contender when it adds the “missing superstar.”
Magic Johnson said the team is one superstar away from being a contender, and given that it is L.A, and the Lakers now have one of the most charismatic Team Presidents in league history, the stage seems set for the Lakers to return to contention with its new wave of youngsters.
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