After splitting their first two games, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers continue their four-game regular-season series.
Injury Update New Orleans Pelicans – Los Angeles Lakers
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the New Orleans Pelicans in a rematch of a game that seems to have changed the fortunes of both teams.
After that loss, the Lakers went home, and three days later, LeBron James broke the NBA’s all-time record for points. But since losing at New Orleans, Los Angeles has lost four of its last five games, including Monday’s 127-115 loss at Portland.
On February 4, the Pelicans beat the Lakers 131-126 at home to end a 10-game losing streak. Brandon Ingram, who used to play for the Lakers, scored 35 points. It is still Ingram’s best scoring game since he came back from a two-month absence because of a sprained left big toe.
Now, the Lakers and Pelicans will play each other in their last game before the All-Star break.
Los Angeles might not have much time to get into a rhythm. The Lakers are 13th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference. Only the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are ahead of them, but they are still close to the last spot in the play-in tournament.
When they play the Pelicans, the Lakers hope to change their direction.
James hasn’t been able to play for the Lakers for the last three games because he hurt his left ankle. James scored an average of 33.9 points in his last 17 games, putting him close to Kareem Abdul-all-time Jabbar’s record. This season, he is averaging 30.2 points per game.
Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times says that James is questionable for this game because of his left ankle.
The questionable label doesn’t come as a surprise because that’s how the Lakers report injuries, but Brad Turner said on Monday that James was hoping to play against the Pelicans. Because of this, it’s safe to say that he’s closer to probable than he is now.
Against the Trail Blazers, Anthony Davis scored 19 points and grabbed 20 rebounds.
Davis said, “We definitely need to win more games than we lose.” “I think we can do it with the people we have now; we just need to move faster. It will definitely be a little bit hard.”
- Can we expect to see Davis today?
Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times says that Davis might be able to play this game even though he hurt his right foot from overuse.
Due to a foot injury that has been bothering him for a long time, the Lakers star was always listed as “probable” before being changed to “available.”
In his last five games, the star big man has averaged 20.4 points, 14.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 34.2 minutes.
The Pelicans’ six-game losing streak on the road ended on Monday when they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-100. CJ McCollum missed the game because of a sprained right ankle. Ingram scored 34 points by making 14 of 24 shots.
The biggest reason for the charge forward has been Ingram’s return. In the eight games he has played since then, he has averaged 25.1 points per game.
During the 103-100 win over the Thunder on Monday, Pels star scored 34 points (14-24 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 3-3 FT), grabbed four rebounds, and gave one assist in 32 minutes of play.
Ingram scored the first 12 points of the game for the Pelicans. He also made two important jump shots in the last three minutes to keep the Thunder from making a comeback.
Since late January, when Ingram came back from a toe injury, he has scored 20 points or more in six of the eight games he has played. In three of those games, he scored at least 30 points. Zion Williamson’s (hamstring) injury is expected to keep him out for even longer after the All-Star break, so Ingram should have more monster offensive games. Since he came back, he’s had at least 20 shots in four games.
Injury Reports Lakers:
- LeBron James (Ankle) – Questionable
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (Concussion) – Questionable
- Anthony Davis (Foot) – Questionable
Injury Reports Pelicans:
- CJ McCollum (Ankle) – Questionable
- Dyson Daniels (Ankle) – Out
- Zion Williamson (Hamstring) – Out
- E.J. Liddell (Knee) – Out
NBA Regular Season Schedule
| Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | ||
| AWAY | HOME | TIME / TV |
| Chicago | Indiana | 7:00 PM |
| San Antonio | Charlotte | 7:00 PM |
| Cleveland | Philadelphia | 7:30 pm ESPN |
| New York | Atlanta | 7:30 PM |
| Detroit | Boston | 7:30 PM |
| Miami | Brooklyn | 7:30 PM |
| Houston | Oklahoma City | 8:00 PM |
| Utah | Memphis | 8:00 PM |
| Dallas | Denver | 9:00 PM |
| New Orleans | L.A. Lakers | 10:00 pm ESPN |
