The No.7 seed New Orleans Pelicans will take on the No.8 seed Los Angeles Lakers to tip off the 2024 NBA Play-In games, as Tuesday night's matchup holds a lot of interesting storylines.
Tension has built up between both teams since Anthony Davis was traded to the Lakers in the same year Zion Williamson was drafted No.1 to the New Orleans Pelicans. Now, both teams will meet in a rematch of their NBA In-Season Tournament game.
Can LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers find their stride and beat New Orleans once again, or will Zion Williamson and the Pelicans come up big in his first postseason game?
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2024 NBA Play-In: Lakers vs. Pelicans
Date: Tuesday, April 16th
Time: 7:30 PM
Network: TNT
Location: Smoothie King Arena
Both teams have had a strong regular season to get them to this point.
The New Orleans Pelicans finished with their best record since their Anthony Davis era, winning 49 games this year.
While the Los Angeles Lakers have managed to move their way up the standings in the difficult West, going from the 10th seed to finishing the season strong at the 8th. This late season Lakers charge included a dominant win against the Pelicans in their final game.
LA has so far dominated the season series against the New Orleans, beating them in three out of the four previous matchups.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Zion Williamson in the Postseason
All eyes will be on Zion Williamson in his first career postseason game.
Williamson's career has been plagued by injury throughout his first four years in New Orleans.
He missed the Pelicans' surprise postseason run in 2022, and their NBA Play-In game last season. So far this year Zion Williamson has played in 70 games and has a chance to finally play some postseason basketball.
Williamson looked really good throughout the final stretch of the regular season, posting 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
The question is, can he lift the Pelicans past the Lakers? Williamson has an all-time 1-7 record against LeBron James and the Lakers, having struggled during all their matchups this season.
Zion Williamson has a big chance now to remind the world why he is still one of the best young players in the NBA.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Lakers and Pelicans Health an X-Factor
The question coming into Tuesday night's game is whether Anthony Davis will be ready.
Davis exited the court with a back injury during Sunday's 124-108 win over his former team.
He has experienced a relatively healthy season for his standards playing 76 games. However, even without Anthony Davis it's not impossible for the Lakers to pick up a win against the Pelicans. Davis has proven to be a difference maker for the Lakers, especially late in the season and will definitely be missed if he is not cleared for the NBA Playoffs.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has returned after missing 12 games with a left knee bone contusion. Sunday was his first game back and he did show some rust in his return.
How Ingram performs is pivotal for the Pelicans. Throughout the season, he has proven to be New Orleans' second-best player behind Zion Williamson.
Brandon Ingram had a solid year averaging 20.8 points per game. If completely healthy, he could be a major key for the Pelicans if they have any hope of winning.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Final Verdict
Both teams are no strangers to the NBA Play-In.
The Lakers last season managed to make a deep playoff run coming from the NBA Play-In. The same could be said for the Pelicans, who are joining the Play-In slate for the third season in a row now.
Despite a lot of talk coming into Tuesday's game, the Lakers could take a dive against the New Orleans Pelicans to avoid having to play the Denver Nuggets in favor of a series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's hard to bet against LeBron James in a win-and-get-in scenario, especially against a young Pelicans team that he has dominated so far throughout his Lakers tenure.
Our Winner: Los Angeles Lakers because of postseason experience this year's previous matchups.
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