New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 3/3/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Location: crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Los Angeles Lakers (36-24) host the New Orleans Pelicans (19-43) at crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.

The Pelicans took the court against the Clippers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 137-117 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Pelicans walked away with 21 and the Clippers had 22 personal fouls. They also buried 17 out of their 36 shots from downtown. Los Angeles finished 82.8% at the charity stripe by knocking down 24 of their 29 shots. On top of that, Los Angeles snagged 38 rebounds (10 offensive, 28 defensive) and added 4 blocks. Los Angeles recorded 29 assists and had 11 steals for the contest. Regarding defending, New Orleans let their opponent shoot 53.9% from the field on 48 out of 89 shooting. They also doled out 22 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 41 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Pelicans knocked down 25 of 30 tries for a rate of 83.3%. New Orleans walked away from the game having earned a 44.9% field goal percentage (40 of 89) and converted 12 out of their 33 shots from downtown.

Jeremiah Fears is one player who played a role for this game. He walked away with 28 points on 10 of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 26 mins played and also collected 3 rebounds. Jeremiah finished shooting 66.7% from the field and also totaled 4 dimes.

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New Orleans will play this contest with a record of 19-43 for the season. They are averaging 115.1 pts per game (18th in the league) while hitting 46.4% from the field. The Pelicans are connecting on 34.5% on shots from distance (697 of 2,023) and 78.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, New Orleans is pulling in 43.9 rebounds per game and has accumulated 1,559 dimes so far this year, which ranks 18th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 14.3 times per contest and as a unit are committing 20.0 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Pelicans are able to force 14.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.2 personal fouls. They are 29th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,733 relinquished on the campaign. The Pelicans defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.7% (2,707 of 5,680) and they concede 45.7 boards per game as a team. They surrender 35.1% on 3-pointers and they are 27th in the league in points per game allowed (120.4).

The last time they took the court, the Lakers walked away with a victory by a final of 128-104 when they faced the Kings. The Lakers collected 28 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 37 in the game. They also coughed it up 10 times, while earning 14 steals for the matchup. The Kings earned 16 fouls for this game which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They were able to knock down 16 of them for a rate of 72.7%. When talking about three-point attempts, Los Angeles made 18 of their 39 attempts (46.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers ended up shooting 47 out of 94 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. The Lakers allowed the Kings to bury 42 of 90 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.7% for the contest. They finished 23.1% from distance by connecting on 6 of 26 and finished the contest at 14 out of 15 from the free throw line (93.3%). In regard to how they rebounded, Los Angeles permitted Sacramento to get 52 overall (16 on the offensive glass).

Luka Doncic ended up having an impact for the Lakers for this game. Doncic scored 28 points in his 29 minutes on the court and totaled 9 assists for the contest. He buried 10 of 16 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and added 5 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss mark of 36-24 for the season. The Lakers have committed 18.6 fouls per contest and they connect on 76.8% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 25.4 times per game (20th in the league) and they cough up possession 14.7 times per contest. Los Angeles has 6,955 points so far this season (115.9 per contest) and they snag 40.9 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Lakers are hitting on 49.9% from the field, which has them ranked 1st in the NBA.

The Lakers are ranked 16th in the NBA in PPG given up with 115.5. They are forcing their opponents into 14.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.5% from the floor (26th in basketball). The Los Angeles defense allows 36.2% on 3-pointers (795 of 2,198) and their opponents are knocking down 78.8% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 27.5 dimes and 41.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 21st and 3rd in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Orleans

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