The Lakers (10-3) bring a 4-game winning streak into a home contest against New Orleans (4-6) for a 7 p.m. tip on Spectrum SportsNet.
Below are three things to know about the matchup:
NEW ORLEANS NEW STYLE
Last season, New Orleans (30-42) finished the year ranked 15th on offense 21st on defense, before firing Alvin Gentry and hiring Stan Van Gundy. Under SVG, they’ve ramped up their defense, ranking 10th through 10 games, while dropping in offense, down to 20th. Their biggest personnel switch came in a Jrue Holiday (out) for Eric Bledsoe (in) swap in the backcourt, plus the addition of Steven Adams at the center spot to shore up their back line. He’s done that quite well, as witnessed by their defensive improvement as he contributes 10.5 points, 8.6 boards and 0.9 blocks to the cause. Known as a strong box out player, Adams has helped NOP to lead the NBA in rebounding, grabbing 8.3 more than their opponents (LAL rank third at 7.3)
After a 4-2 start, the Pelicans have stumbled, losing four straight games to IND, OKC, CHA and LAC, and last game were without Bledsoe, Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball; Bledsoe and Zion are expected to be back for Friday’s matchup.
MAKE ‘EM SHOOT
The biggest weakness of NOP thus far has been an inability to hit shots from the perimeter, as they rank last in 3-point percentage (32.5%), considerably below LAL’s 39.6% (3rd). They’re also not exactly pinging the ball around the court, ranking 24th in assists (22.8), compared to LAL’s 25.3 (13th). Turnovers have been a problem as well, as they commit 16.1 (26th), with LAL also struggling there at 15.5 (23rd).
But back to the shooting: longtime NBA sniper JJ Redick is hitting just 29.4% from 3, signaling their problems. Ball, who won’t play on Friday, is at 30.8%; Brandon Ingram’s shooting 34.5%; Josh Hart 32.5%; though Bledsoe, who has long struggled from three, is second on the team at 37.8%.
The Lakers, by contrast, have eight players shooting better than 37.8%, though with a super small sample size alert for Jared Dudley (1 for 1), Alfonzo McKinnie (3 for 3) and Quinn Cook (4 for 4). The other five guys all have at least 21 attempts from distance.
Ingram has been their most consistent scorer with 23.8 points per game, though he’s seen a drop in efficiency from last season (46.3% FG’s to 44.7%), while Zion has been their most efficient scorer (55.7% FG’s) after the low-attempts Adams (68.7%).
TAKING A LOAD OFF
By blowing out the Rockets twice and Thunder once on their 3-game road trip, the Lakers were able to continue an important trend: limiting the minutes LeBron James and Anthony Davis need to play.
LeBron is averaging 31.9 minutes per game, a career low by nearly three minutes (34.6 last season), and Davis 31.8, the lowest since his rookie year in New Orleans (2012-13).
“For sure, the more we can come out and play the right way and grow leads and hopefully sit out in the fourth quarter, it all translates later on down the line,” said Davis. “Especially for playoffs. You’re not putting as much wear and tear (on your body). Especially with a shorter season and how quickly we started playing again … it’s good when we’re able to sit out the fourth quarter, especially the last three games.”
Davis has missed two games this season with minor injuries, while LeBron has played in all 11 games, likely giving himself an early-season lead in the MVP discussion with his still impressive numbers (24.3 points, 8.1 boards and 7.5 assists) as the Lakers keep stacking wins.
The generally low minutes do afford Frank Vogel the chance to increase them in tight games, but that hasn’t been necessary early this season, and it may not be for a while as they continue to figure out this unique NBA calendar.