Lakers Easily Handle Pelicans, Zion Williamson Looks Unstoppable

Winners of seven consecutive games and eight of their last 10, the Los Angeles Lakers (39-21, 10.5 games back of 1st place Oklahoma City), breezed over the New Orleans Pelicans in Los Angeles Tuesday night by a score of 136-115. 

LeBron James, who surpassed 50,000 total career points on the evening, scored a team-high 34 points with 8 rebounds and 6 assists on 10-for-18 (5-for-10 from deep), while Luka Doncic (9-for-19, 6-for-13) scored 30 while dishing out 15 assists and collecting 8 rebounds. 

The Pelicans (17-45), who were led by Zion Williamson’s 37 points (17-for-23, 6 assists, 4 rebounds), tried to cut into the deficit at certain points but the Lakers countered with scoring stretches. Kelly Olynyk initiated a good portion of Pelican offense, something that he should not have to do. The Pelicans’ lack of playmaking outside of Williamson is glaring. Trey Murphy III scored 19 points but he and C.J. McCollum (10 points, 4-for-11) were just 2-for-11 from downtown combined. 

Williamson, who attacks at will and finishes with relative ease, can initiate things and initiated plenty of offense last season. Dejounte Murray’s arrival was supposed to relieve Williamson of some of that responsibility, but Murray being out for the season has reverted the Pelicans’ style back to 2023-24. 

A few highlights were provided on the part of Williamson, a fast break layup over LeBron James where Williamson leapt, avoided James in the air and lofted the ball in with his left hand finger roll. In the second half, Williamson caught the ball in the paint on the right side, elevated from about a foot outside the restricted area, and crammed the ball over Trey Jamison III with his left hand, the Pelican bench rising to their feet in excitement and “ooohs” reverberating from the crowd. 

Williamson has the rarest blend of power, speed, finesse, and strength. He doesn’t look like he should handle the ball as well as he does, but he is a strong ball handler who keeps defenders off balance. He has a very quick first step and once he gets in the paint he uses his body to create space, and his jumps are cat quick. 

Jaxson Hayes played a good game for the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds (18 in the first half) as Doncic and James did good jobs finding their big man for lobs and easy scores under the basket and inside. Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Lakers solid minutes off the bench with 12 points and 8 rebounds. His defensive effort was apparent.

The Lakers are obviously very potent offensively, but their defense particularly in transition needs some work. With the way the regular season is, their open style is flourishing, but they will need to clean their defense up a bit come playoff time.