Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 1/6/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans (8-29) will try to beat the Los Angeles Lakers (22-11) at Smoothie King Center on Tuesday.

The Lakers stepped onto the hardwood against the Grizzlies and notched a win by a score of 120-114 in their last game. Los Angeles finished the contest having earned a 47.5% field goal percentage (38 of 80) and knocked down 11 of their 41 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Lakers converted 33 of their 41 attempts for a rate of 80.5%. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they earned 45 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 30 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In reference to the defense, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 42.0% from the field on 42 of 100 shooting. Memphis dished out 29 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. Furthermore, Memphis grabbed 47 boards (16 offensive, 31 defensive) and had 6 rejections. Memphis finished the game at 90.9% at the free throw line by burying 20 of 22 shots. They buried 10 of their 41 attempts from 3-point range. When discussing personal fouls, the Lakers ended up finishing with 18 and the Grizzlies accumulated 31 personal fouls.

Luka Doncic is a player who was a contributor in this contest. Doncic went 50.0% from the field and also earned 8 assists. He played for 39 minutes and also pulled down 9 boards. He was able to score 36 points on 10 out of 20 shooting.

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Los Angeles heads into this one with a win-loss record of 22-11 for the campaign. They turn the ball over 15.5 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 20.0 fouls every game. As a unit, Los Angeles is grabbing 41.1 boards per contest and has tallied 824 assists on the season, which has them ranked 26th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Lakers are shooting 34.3% on shots from distance (386 of 1,126) and 78.4% from the charity stripe. They average 117.3 points per outing (14th in the NBA) on 50.1% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Lakers are forcing their opponents into 15.2 turnovers per game while drawing 22.8 personal fouls. They are giving up 37.7% from beyond the arc and they rank 18th in basketball in PPG allowed (117.3). The Lakers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 48.7% (1,406 of 2,887) and they surrender 40.2 rebounds per game as a unit. They rank 14th in the league in giving up assists with 915 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Pelicans took a loss by a score of 125-106 when they faced the Heat. Regarding cleaning the glass, New Orleans permitted Miami to snag 43 in total (12 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.9% from downtown by connecting on 18 out of 44 and ended up going 13 of 18 at the free throw line (72.2%). The Pelicans allowed the Heat to convert 47 out of their 101 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.5% in this game. Overall, the Pelicans walked away from this one shooting 42 out of 90 from the field which had them at 46.7%. In relation to 3-pointers, New Orleans converted 16 of 40 attempts (40.0%). They were able to convert 6 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 75.0%. The Heat had 14 fouls for the matchup which got the Pelicans to the free throw line for 8 tries. They also coughed it up 26 times, while getting 9 steals in the matchup. The Pelicans were able to corral 36 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 for the matchup.

Trey Murphy III was important for the Pelicans for this game. Murphy accumulated 27 points in his 38 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 5 dimes in the matchup. He converted 10 out of 19 for the matchup giving him a rate of 52.6%, and had 8 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 8-29 on the season. The Pelicans have committed 20.4 personal fouls every game and they connect on 78.8% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 24.6 times per contest (26th in the league) and they turn the ball over 14.6 times per contest. New Orleans has scored 4,261 pts on the campaign (115.2 per game) and they average 43.4 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Pelicans are connecting on 46.1% from the field, which ranks them 22nd in the NBA.

The Pelicans on defense are ranked 28th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 123.1. They are forcing 15.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 48.7% from the floor (25th in basketball). The New Orleans defense allows 35.8% on shots from beyond the arc (557 of 1,554) and opponents are converting on 79.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 29.2 dimes and 45.8 boards per game, ranking them 29th and 24th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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