The Los Angeles Lakers’ five-game road trip continues on Friday with a game against the struggling New Orleans Pelicans. They started the trip with a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks before beating the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, only to get humbled by the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Friday will also be the Lakers’ second group play game of the Emirates NBA Cup. They won their first such contest on Oct. 31 against the Memphis Grizzlies, and they’re currently in first place in West Group B.
Los Angeles will get a bit of help on Friday, as rookie forward Adou Thiero will be available to play for the first time following a knee injury he sustained several months ago. Head coach JJ Redick said he expects Thiero to make his season debut in either Friday’s game or the following evening versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
Thiero is 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, and thanks to his ample athleticism, he can get to the rim and draw fouls. He averaged 15.1 points on 54.5% field-goal shooting and 5.8 rebounds a game last season while with the University of Arkansas. He was the No. 36 pick in June’s draft. Los Angeles acquired his rights from the Brooklyn Nets by participating in a draft day trade that involved seven times.
