Robert Marvi, LeBron WireTue, March 3, 2026 at 3:54 AM UTC·2 min readThe Los Angeles Lakers seem poised to win their third straight game when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. Like the Sacramento Kings, the team the Lakers defeated on Sunday, the Pelicans may be in tanking mode, and they hold a 19-43 record. Los Angeles is coming off back-to-back blowout victories, and the team is healthier than it has been for most of this season.
Health is likely going to be the biggest key to the Lakers' chances of being successful for the rest of this season. Everyone was available for them on Sunday, as forward Rui Hachimura returned after a two-game absence due to an illness. For Tuesday's contest, everyone is once again expected to be available for the Purple and Gold.
On the other side, Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been more consistently healthy this season than he has been for most of his short NBA career. He did miss Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers with an ankle ailment, but he did say on ESPN's "NBA Today" that he expects to be in uniform versus Los Angeles.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I expect to be back tomorrow against the Lakers," he said.
Tuesday's game has the possibility of being a trap game for Los Angeles. It will head off to Colorado to play the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, and after returning home for a matchup on Friday against the struggling Indiana Pacers, it will host the New York Knicks on Sunday.
L.A. currently has a 36-24 record and is in sixth place in the Western Conference, and as of this writing, it trails the fifth-place Nuggets by half a game.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers release injury report for Tuesday's game versus Pelicans
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