After closing January with 10 straight losses, the Los Angeles Lakers started February with a win. On Thursday, LA is in New Orleans with the injury ravaged Pelicans hoping to flap their way back into the Western Conference playoff picture.
At 18-30, the Pelicans are five games back of eighth seed Portland, but the Pelicans have won seven of their last 11 games. Anthony Davis has appeared in 10 of those past 11 games, so New Orleans' franchise player should be suited and ready to go against the Lakers.
Over his past three games, Davis is averaging 23.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in 38 minutes on the court. Considering the heavy load of minutes, "the uni-brow" is fully fit for duty. In fact the last time the Lakers faced the Pelicans, Davis sat out and LA squeaked out a 95-91 victory.
Kobe is playing tonight vs New Orleans — Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 4, 2016
Thursday night is not a farewell game for Kobe Bryant, as LA is scheduled to revisit the Big Easy on April 8 during Bryant's final road trip of his career. Fresh off a 38-point performance, the 37-year-old said he felt fine following his 33-minute outing on Tuesday.
Kobe on scoring 38 points: "You’ve seen me for 20 damn years. What do you expect?" — Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 3, 2016
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With only 31 games remaining in Bryant's career, every time he steps on the court is must-see television.
Along with Bryant, the growth of power forward Julius Randle has sparked interest from fans watching near and far. The 21-year-old has logged double-doubles in his past three games and 19 on the season overall, the latter of which ranks 19th overall in the NBA.Curiously, the second-year did not earn an invite to the NBA Rising Stars' challenge over All-Star weekend, which arrives on the heels of the Lakers' four-game road trip.
Following New Orleans, LA will travel to San Antonio on Saturday, Indiana on Monday and Cleveland on Wednesday.
From there, the Lakers will get a week off—with the exception of Bryant, D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson.Russell and Clarkson will take part in the Rising Stars Challenge, while Bryant will take part in the NBA All-Star Game—the 18th of his career. While Randle's omission is curious, Clarkson and Russell's inclusions fit the bill.
In his second season, Clarkson is the Lakers' most consistent player this season. The 2014-15 All-Rookie First Team member has scored in double figures in 28 of the past 29 games, including 19 straight. Russell has started to settle into a groove off the bench and is coming off an 18-point outing against Minnesota. The 19-year-old has scored in double figures in 10 of his past 12 games, while averaging a healthy 26.7 minutes over that stretch. On the season, Russell is averaging 27.0 minutes per game.
Despite the hullabaloo over Russell's minutes, the rookie is getting plenty of time on the court and appears to be showing steady improvement. For comparison's sake, no. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 29.8 minutes per game, so Russell is averaging less than three fewer minutes per night on the court.
Another positive sign on the Lakers' development front was the return of Tarik Black on the court. On Tuesday, the second-year big man earned minutes over Roy Hibbert and showed positive activity on the court. His energy and athleticism helped the Lakers edge the Timberwolves, and Black could be a huge asset against a player like Davis on Thursday.
Black, however, is listed as probable due to a sore left foot. X-Rays came back negative, so Black's involvement is considered more likely than not, and the 24-year-old should find plenty of minutes on the floor for the remainder of the season.
The Lakers and Pelicans tip-off at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
