New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 03/03/26

With 4 wins in 5 games you’d think the Pelicans have something going on right now, but when you look at the opponents they beat to get to that record (Utah twice, Golden State and Philadelphia) things get clearer. Their last game saw them lose to the Clippers by 20 points, despite getting their leading scorer Trey Murphy III back from injury. Unlike those other teams that are tanking, the Pelicans are actually trying to win games at the moment, but their issues is they’re just not good enough on most nights. The oddsmakers have them once again as huge underdogs ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Lakers. LA has beaten them in 9 straight meetings, including 7 in a row at Crypto.com Arena.

Following 3 consecutive losses to Boston, Orlando and Phoenix, the Lakers got a small break in the schedule with a back-to-back scenario vs Golden State and Sacramento. They dominated the two struggling teams with ease, the hype train is back in effect after those wins and now their fans are expecting another one of those wins vs New Orleans. How realistic is that though? If we are to go by the first 3 meetings this season, I’d say very. The Lakers won by 14, 12 and 8 points in those 3 games, despite all the turbulence they’ve encountered since the All-Star break, they should be winning games like these.

A win here edges the Lakers closer to the 5th seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference, the two teams have the same number of losses entering Tuesday’s action. I’m hoping Luka and co. guard against complacency here, just like they did in their last two games where they were the overwhelming favorites. Go with the Lakers.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions: Lakers -8.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.