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New Orleans Hornets vs. L.A. Lakers Tuesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Hornets vs Lakers NBA Handicapping

In casino security rooms – those folks who spend all day staring at video monitors trying to find cheaters at blackjack and roulette tables – they refer to anything out of the ordinary as JDLR.

New Orleans Hornets (15-29) at Los Angeles Lakers (19-25)
Tuesday, Jan. 29
Staples Center, Los Angeles
10:30 p.m. EST
Spread – Lakers -7 at TopBet.eu
O/U – 194.5

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Just Doesn’t Look Right.

Same with the Los Angeles Lakers, who take a modest two-game (Oklahoma City and Utah) winning streak into tonight’s game at the Staples Center against the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans.

The two somewhat unexpected wins have given Mike D’Antoni’s dysfunctional group a bit of a tailwind as they prepare for a seven-game road trip that starts tomorrow night in Phoenix and includes stops in Minnesota, Detroit, Brooklyn, Boston and Charlotte before the grand finale on Sunday, Feb. 13 in Miami.

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The trip could determine whether or not the Lakers will make a late-season run at a lower playoff spot or fade into oblivion.

D’Antoni has been reluctant to use the jockey’s whip on Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard, knowing full well that aggravating the players who have to produce in the final 38 games is not the avenue to long-term job security.

So basically all D’Antoni can do is keep on keepin’ on, hope that all the key players will be healthy for the stretch run, and that his team can make up 4.5 games on Houston and sneak into the playoffs.

The wins over the Jazz and Thunder have raised hopes a bit in Hollywood. And as is always the case with the Lakers, the improvement was fueled by Bryant, who decided to shoot less (35 total points in the two wins, on just 10 shots; but a whopping total of 28 assists – 14 in each game).

Kobe the distributor. [ad-6571516]

With Bryant perhaps having figured things out and implementing Plan B, attention now turns to Howard, who has added a shoulder injury to his personal Season from Hell. His points are down to 16.5 a game, and as the season heads into the back nine he’s starting to get questions about whether he wants to stay in Los Angeles or finds greener pastures via impending free agency.

Howard’s early-season comments seemed to indicate that he would sign a max deal and remain in Los Angeles; now NBA tea leaf readers seem to think that he might be leaning toward walking once the season ends.

Shoot me now.

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The Hornets/Pelicans got a nice lift when overall No. 1 pick Anthony Davis returned from injury. Davis has been out of the limelight because of New Orleans’s poor play this season, but the kid looks like he’ll be a real player in the league.

His scoring (12.8 a game) will only go up, and his other numbers are solid (nearly two blocks and two steals a game).

Howard will have some problems tonight, so we’re going with the Hornets/Pelicans to cover +7 before they get gassed by a long road swing that has them away from home seven of the next eight games.

By Lawrence Paul

Lawrence Paul is back in the saddle as a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. He's got an AMAZING knack for predicting when a team will have a letdown! Stick with our resident gambling experts sports betting tips all season long!