The Los Angeles Lakers (9-9) will travel to New Orleans (6-12) to face the Pelicans for the second time this season at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday.

It will begin a taxing five-day stretch for the Lakers that will involve four away games against the Pelicans (Tuesday), Chicago Bulls (Wednesday), Toronto Raptors (Friday) and Memphis Grizzlies (Saturday), before they return home to host the Utah Jazz next Monday.

On Nov. 12, the Lakers blew out the Pelicans 126-99 courtesy a total team effort that saw D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams all score in excess of 20 points while Julius Randle registered a near triple-double. However, a lot has changed since that last meeting.

New Orleans has been a different outfit since the return of point guard Jrue Holiday. Despite back-to-back road losses to Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks, Anthony Davis' team has won four out of its last six games.

The Lakers are coming off an impressive 109-95 home win against the Atlanta Hawks but will be entering Tuesday's game without the injured duo of Russell and Randle. However, new coach Luke Walton has instilled the "next man up" philosophy within the team -- which has helped propel bench players to step up their game.

During the win against the Hawks, the Lakers bench amounted a whopping 73 points. "The energy that the second unit brought on the defensive end in the second quarter changed the outcome of that game (against Atlanta). It's what we have been preaching all year, but it was really the first time that we saw all five guys on the court talking defensively," Walton said after Sunday's win, per ESPN.

In Randle's absence, Walton has tried out various combinations. During the back-to-back defeats to Golden State Warriors last week, the Lakers started veteran Luol Deng at power forward and rookie Brandon Ingram at small forward. However, Walton started Thomas Robinson at the 4 against Atlanta -- and it worked.

Robinson is expected to start again on Tuesday. "What I didn't do earlier in my career is take baby steps. I just wanted it all at one time. This is what I'm doing now. It's a process and I'll keep growing, keep growing. I'm still young (25), so I have plenty left," said the forward, who is playing for his sixth team in five seasons.

Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans: Live streaming info and score updates

Watch the game live on NBA League Pass, Time Warner Sports Net or Fox Sports depending on your area in the United States. The game starts at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time (5 PM PT, 11.00 AM AEDT)

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