Lakers vs. Pelicans Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Tuesday, Jan. 6

The Lakers are road favorites on Tuesday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers and guard Luka Doncic are road favorites on Tuesday. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers keep winning clutch games (they’re an NBA-best 12-0 in clutch games) heading into a road date with the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.

L.A. knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, pushing it back to 11 games over .500 in the 2025-26 campaign. The Lakers are 12-5 on the road this season, but New Orleans is 20-16-1 against the spread overall, making this an interesting game from a betting perspective. 

After momentarily climbing out of the basement in the Western Conference, the Pelicans have not dropped seven games in a row, including Sunday’s matchup against the Miami Heat. 

They have losses by 14 and 12 to the Lakers this season (both games were in November), but L.A. doesn’t have a pair of starters in Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura on Tuesday.

Does that give the Pels a chance to cover?

Here’s a look at the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for Tuesday night’s matchup. 

Lakers vs. Pelicans Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

• Lakers -5.5 (-108)
• Pelicans +5.5 (-112)

Moneyline

• Lakers: -230
• Pelicans: +190

Total

• 242.5 (Over -108/Under -112)

Lakers vs. Pelicans How to Watch

• Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6
• Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Venue: Smoothie King Center
• How to Watch (TV): Spectrum Sportsnet, FanDuel Sports Network (Local)
• Lakers record: 22-11
• Pelicans record: 8-29

Lakers vs. Pelicans Injury Reports

Lakers Injury Report

• Rui Hachimura – out
• Austin Reaves – out
• Adou Thiero – out
• Gabe Vincent – questionable

Pelicans Injury Report

• Trey Alexander – out
• Hunter Dickinson – out
• Dejounte Murray – out
• Herb Jones – questionable
• Saddiq Bey – out

Lakers vs. Pelicans Best NBA Prop Bet

Lakers Best NBA Prop Bet

• Luka Doncic 7+ Rebounds (-153)

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why Doncic is worth a look at this discounted rebounds props: 

Luka Doncic has not been the same on the glass since the start of December, but I’m buying him on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans. 

Doncic has seven and 12 boards in his two matchups with New Orleans this season, and he’s still averaging 8.1 rebounds on 12.2 rebound chances per game this season. 

New Orleans ranks just 24th in the NBA in opponent rebounds per game, so I decided to move Doncic’s rebounds prop from 7.5 (where it was +114) to 7+, where it is -153. This season, the Lakers star has at least seven boards in 15 of his 26 games. 

He’s coming off a nine-rebound game against Memphis on Sunday, and I expect him to push his season average in this matchup. 

Lakers vs. Pelicans Prediction and Pick

The Pelicans are 11-8-1 against the spread as home dogs this season, but they have two double-digit losses to L.A. (by 12 and 14 points), including one on their home floor.

The Lakers are down Reaves, but they still have Doncic and LeBron James in this matchup against a New Orleans team that has lost seven games in a row and ranks 27th in the NBA in net rating (-7.6).

Even though the Pelicans made a mini run in late December, they’re right back to the basement in the Western Conference and still are in the bottom five in the league in both offensive and defensive rating.

The Lakers’ defense has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, but this is still the No. 7 offense in the league that hung 133 points on this New Orleans team the last time they played. 

I think oddsmakers are giving New Orleans a little too much credit in this game, especially since the Lakers have been solid as road favorites (4-4 against the spread) this season. 

Pick: Lakers -5.5 (-108 at DraftKings)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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