The Los Angeles Lakers passed their test in the Play-in Tournament Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. However, LeBron James and the Lakers were not even deemed the favorites in that contest, which FOX Sports personality Chris Broussard found hard to believe.
“I’m not surprised, I’m gobsmacked, I’m utterly astounded. No I’m serious, I’m shocked,” Broussard said about learning that the Lakers were the underdogs going into the meeting with Zion Williamson and the Pelicans.
However, Broussard also indicated that the Pelicans were also probably the chalks to win the game in large part because LeBron James and Anthony Davis were carrying uncertain tags in terms of availabilities for the contest. And of course, homecourt advantage still matters despite the Pelicans barely above .500 in the regular season in home games.
For what it’s worth, the Pelicans were just one-point faves against the Lakers.
“Let’s count the ways the Lakers should be the favorites. They have the two best players on the floor without question, LeBron and A.D. They beat New Orleans three out of four times they played this year by an average of 25 points. Plus, they have way more playoff experience, it’s not even close.
LeBron himself has played 282 playoff games, the Pelicans in total combined, all of them, 205 playoff games. The Lakers are hot, finishing 11-3, the Pelicans are not, finishing 4-5. And New Orleans is bad in the blender. You know what the blender is? Smoothie Kingston, the blender….They are the worst playoff or the worst team of all the top eight seeds in either conference, 21-19, that’s not good. So, I mean, I don’t know. I guess they’re saying A.D., questionable, LeBron, probable…”
.@Chris_Broussard is 'gobsmacked' that the Lakers are underdogs to the Pelicans 😅 pic.twitter.com/EwzaX76Vip
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 16, 2024
The Los Angeles Lakers Took Care of Business Against the Pelicans
The Lakers escaped the Play-in Tournament tussle versus the Pelicans with a 110-106 win, which rewarded them a ticket to a playoff battle against the reigning NBA champions and No. 2 Western Conference seed Denver Nuggets.
D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers in the Pelicans game with 21 points on the strength of five made 3-pointers, while James and Davis finished with 23 and 20 points, respectively. It is not about to get any easier for the Lakers, with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets ahead of them, but they nevertheless have momentum heading into that series.
The Lakers will play Game 1 of the Nuggets series on Saturday in Mile High City.
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