LeBron James. That's all you need to know as to why Lakers here.

Even though the Lakers are out of the playoffs and enduring a highly disappointing season, James makes the Lakers dangerous at home against mediocre opponents. He didn't play in the Lakers' last game, a 115-100 road loss to the Jazz this past Wednesday.

But James was in full force leading the Lakers to home victories against the Wizards and Kings in LA's two previous games. James should be fresh for this matchup since he was rested against the Jazz. That's extremely bad news for the Hornets. James has destroyed this time through the years. His lifetime record against the Hornets is 47-6. This includes a 128-100 Lakers victory over Charlotte on Dec. 15 when James had a triple-double.

The Hornets certainly can not be trusted on the road where they have played much worse going 11-24.