A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game at the Smoothie King Center between Los Angeles and New Orleans (6 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):
9: Place in the Western Conference for Sunday’s winner, with only a half-game separating the Lakers (31-42) and Pelicans (31-43). As was the case Saturday, tonight’s matchup is not just another game for New Orleans, as it tries to cement a berth in next month’s Western Conference play-in tournament – as well as earn the No. 9 seed, which carries homecourt advantage in the 9 vs. 10, loser-is-eliminated game. A victory Sunday by the Pelicans would guarantee they remain in ninth place at least until Wednesday, when they launch a four-game road trip at Portland. If New Orleans can win both of its games over the next six nights against the Lakers, on paper the Pelicans would be in good position to ultimately finish ahead of L.A. in the standings, because the California franchise has a daunting upcoming schedule. Aside from the two games vs. the Pelicans, the Lakers have six games left against top-six West foes (at Dallas, at Utah, Denver twice, at Phoenix, at Golden State), with just one opponent under .500 (Oklahoma City on April 8). NOLA’s next six games are all against teams sporting losing records, though it lost to one (San Antonio) yesterday.
15.0: Jose Alvarado points per game since March 19, tying him for 14th in the NBA in individual bench scoring average during that timeframe (he’s eighth in that span if you only include players who’ve made at least three appearances as a reserve, led by Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic at 22.0 ppg in three recent outings). You already knew Alvarado was excellent in assist-to-turnover ratio (he’s eighth in the NBA among players with 40-plus games at 3.97), but lately he’s become a dangerous scorer, putting up 15 points apiece in wins over Atlanta and Chicago, then dropping in a career-best 23 points against San Antonio on Saturday. Over the last four games, Alvarado is shooting 50 percent from the field, 43 percent from three-point range and 89 percent at the foul line (8/9). As is the case for many NBA rookie point guards, the Georgia Tech product struggled with his shooting efficiency early in 2021-22, but his season rates are now 43.5/31.6/72.7. Since Feb. 1, he’s shooting 46 percent from the floor (39 percent prior to that).
7: With so much happening related to the Crescent City’s basketball team lately, it’s gone mostly under the radar, but center Jonas Valanciunas is in the midst of a fantastic stretch. He’s notched seven consecutive double-doubles, his second-longest streak in that category of the season (he put together 11 in a row in October/November). Over every NBA team’s last five games, the native of Lithuania leads the league in rebounding (14.4 rpg), anchoring New Orleans’ defense by grabbing 10.6 at that end of the floor. This season, the 29-year-old has pulled down 18-plus rebounds four times, including in both of the last two games (19 vs. Chicago, 18 vs. San Antonio). Valanciunas has also shot at least 57 percent from the field in six of the last seven games.
PREVIOUS GAME STARTING LINEUPS
LA LAKERS (31-42, 9TH IN WEST)
Wednesday loss vs. Philadelphia
Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, Wenyen Gabriel, Dwight Howard
Notes: This group is 0-1. It became the 35th different starting lineup the Lakers have used this season. By comparison, last season Los Angeles used 25 in a 72-game schedule. … LeBron James (knee) was listed as questionable on Saturday’s injury report. … Los Angeles owns a 1.5-game lead on No. 11 San Antonio (30-44). The Lakers and Spurs split their season series 2-2; the next tiebreaking step is conference record. If they finish with the same overall record, San Antonio wins the two-team tiebreaker based on a better West record (the Lakers finished 15-15 vs. the East; the Spurs were 10-20).
NEW ORLEANS (31-43, 10TH IN WEST)
Saturday loss vs. San Antonio
Devonte’ Graham, CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Jaxson Hayes, Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: This group is 2-3, fourth in wins among the 21 different starting lineups New Orleans has used this season. … Brandon Ingram (hamstring) was listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against San Antonio but did not play, missing his 10th straight game (the Pelicans are 4-6 in that span). By league rules, New Orleans will submit an updated injury report for Sunday’s game prior to the 1 p.m. local deadline for a back-to-back. … The Pelicans lead the Lakers 1-0 in their season series, but lost their season series to the 11th-place Spurs 3-1.
FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
SWARMING DEFENSE
There were many reasons behind why New Orleans routed the Lakers in the clubs’ only meeting so far this season Feb. 27, but near the top of the list: the Pelicans forced 23 turnovers by the hosts at Crypto.com Arena. Los Angeles is third-to-last in the NBA in turnovers per game (14.6), better than only Golden State (14.9) and Houston (16.6).
BACK TO BOARD DOMINANCE
Saturday’s loss to San Antonio was a rarity in that not only was New Orleans outrebounded, but by a relatively large margin (49-42). The Pelicans pounded the Lakers 51-38 in boards during the Feb. 27 matchup in Southern California.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
In a meeting of decorated, veteran guards, McCollum and Westbrook are about as familiar opponents as it gets in the NBA, with both having spent the majority of the 2010s competing in the Northwest Division for Portland and Oklahoma City, respectively. They also met in one of the more contentious recent first-round playoff series in 2019, won by the Trail Blazers 4-1 on Damian Lillard’s deep three-pointer and wave goodbye to the Thunder.