Lakers vs. Hornets Preview
NEW ORLEANS, LA (AP) – The Los Angeles Lakers certainly weren’t satisfied with their recent homestand, but they won’t have to worry about winning at Staples Center again until after the All-Star break.
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Not that winning will be any easier on a challenging seven-game road trip that begins Saturday night in New Orleans.
The Hornets have won six straight and 11 of 13 at home, but they’ll be without two injured starters as they try to avoid losing a third straight in the season series with the Lakers.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGlobal.com have made the Lakers 3.5-point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against the Hornets. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 87% of more than 60 bets for this game have been placed on the Lakers -3.5.
The reigning NBA champions have endured a few surprisingly difficult stretches this season, including a 1-3 finish to their just-completed five-game homestand.
An overtime win over Houston was the Lakers’ only victory in that span, which included an upset loss to Sacramento and a 109-96 defeat in a NBA finals rematch with Boston.
Los Angeles (34-16) lost 89-88 to league-leading San Antonio on Thursday when Spurs forward Antonio McDyess tipped in an offensive rebound just before the buzzer.
“It’s tough when you’re struggling,” Lakers center Pau Gasol said. “We’re hitting the road, and we’ll have an opportunity to get it together and get back on the right track.”
Poor shooting has been one culprit for Los Angeles, which has hit only 42.7 percent of its shots in its last three losses – including a season-worst 2 of 14 from 3-point range against the Spurs.
Kobe Bryant, though, said a few losses aren’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I think it builds mental toughness,” he said.
This trip may do the same. With the Grammy Awards occupying Staples Center until the All-Star game there Feb. 20, Los Angeles will play seven straight on the road – the first five against opponents with winning records.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he’s “curious” to see how his team fares.
“It’s always fun to go out and have to take on a series of teams on the road,” Jackson said. “We’re playing well on the road as a basketball team and we know it but we just have to keep playing that way.”
The Lakers have won nine of their last 12 road games, including a convincing 103-88 win in New Orleans on Dec. 29.
They also beat the Hornets 101-97 at home Jan. 7, their eighth win in 10 meetings. Poor shooting hasn’t been a problem against New Orleans (32-19) this season, with the Lakers shooting better than 50 percent in both victories and Lamar Odom hitting 18 of 30 from the field to average 20.5 points.
Defensively, they held New Orleans’ David West to eight points in the first matchup and Chris Paul to 12 in the second.
Los Angeles is 15-1 this season when it makes at least half its shots, and the Hornets may have even more trouble matching up with the Lakers’ big men without Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza.
The New Orleans frontcourt duo is averaging a combined 22.2 points and 15.6 rebounds, but Okafor is sidelined with an oblique strain while Ariza – a former Laker – will likely miss about two weeks with a sprained ankle he sustained Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
The Hornets couldn’t contain NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant in that game, allowing him to score 43 points and shoot 14 of 19 as the Thunder won 104-93.
“As a whole, I didn’t think we had that nitty-gritty, go-after-it kind of game,” coach Monty Williams said, “and we can’t play unless we’re playing that way.”
New Orleans, which signed veteran Sasha Pavlovic on Friday to help fill in, has typically been stingier at home, allowing 87.0 points per game during its six-game winning streak there.
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