The New Orleans Pelicans will visit the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Friday evening.

For the Pelicans (15-17), Friday's game will be the second of a four-game road trip that will last through Christmas. The team kicked off its travels with an unsuccessful trip to Milwaukee on Wednesday, where they lost to the Bucks, 123-115. New Orleans had trouble containing Milwaukee's offense, continuing a trend of defensive inconsistency that has haunted the Pelicans this season. The Pelicans rank just 24th in the league in defensive rating, despite boasting reigning All-Defense team players in Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday. Regardless of the team's defensive struggles, though, both Davis and Holiday have put together excellent seasons. Davis boasts impressive averages of 28.0 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game, while Holiday is dishing out a team-high 8.8 assists per game.

Los Angeles (18-13), meanwhile, has cooled off considerably in the last week. The team is just 1-3 in its last four games, with two of its losses coming to sub-.500 Eastern Conference teams. On Sunday, the Lakers took a 128-110 blowout loss to the Wizards, giving up 40 points to Washington star John Wall. Still, despite the team's recent struggles, Los Angeles finds itself in a strong position. The Lakers rank fourth in the Western Conference and are enjoying an excellent first season from superstar LeBron James, who is leading the team with averages of 28.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in his first season as a Laker.