The Los Angeles Lakers are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, and they begin the front end of a back-to-back on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
New Orleans is playing the second night of a back-to-back on Sunday, as it lost to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
L.A. won’t have superstar LeBron James in this game, as he’s set to sit out with a foot injury. That should allow him to play on Monday against the Phoenix Suns.
Even without LeBron, the Lakers are double-digit favorites at home in this matchup.
Here’s a look at the latest odds, my favorite prop target and a prediction for Sunday’s action.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Pelicans Injury Report
Lakers Injury Report
Lakers Best NBA Prop Bet
With James out, Luka Doncic should have an even bigger playmaking role than usual on Sunday.
Doncic enters this game off an 11-assist game against the Dallas Mavericks, and he’s averaging 9.4 dimes per game overall. The Lakers star has a great matchup with a Pelicans team that ranks 25th in the NBA in opponent assists per game this season.
Doncic has double-digit assists in seven of his 14 appearances this season, including a 12-assist game the last time these teams met.
Every day, I share my favorite bets on the NBA in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – and I broke down why the Lakers are the team to bet at home:
Even with LeBron James out on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers should make quick work of the New Orleans Pelicans.
New Orleans is 3-17 this season, 1-8 on the road and 1-9 in its last 10 games, losing to the Lakers by 14 earlier this season at home.
Now, Los Angeles is at Crypto.com Arena, where it has been dominant in the 2025-26 season, going 6-2 overall. The Lakers have won six straight games heading into this matchup, and I think they can win with margin, as they’ve posted a 6-2 against the spread record at home this season.
New Orleans ranks 27th in net rating, 27th in offensive rating and 25th in defensive rating this season while L.A. has the second-best record in the West. Don’t overthink this matchup on Sunday.
Pick: Lakers -14.5 (-108 at DraftKings)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.
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