NBA Daily Notes: Lakers rout the Warriors; Top fantasy picks for December 26th

PF 1 - Julius Randle (New Orleans Pelicans)

New Orleans Pelicans are going from bad to worse

The New Orleans Pelicans are struggling to put together wins this season. They are currently 14th in the Western Conference with a torrid 15-19 record. They are 8 games behind the conference leaders in Denver Nuggets and have won only 3 of their last 10 games, despite having 2 of the top 20 players in the league right now. They are also on a 4 game losing streak, which exposes how bad their bench actually is. One player who is benefiting from the lack of bench is Julius Randle.

Randle is having a career year, averaging a career-high 19 points per game this season, along with more than 9 rebounds per game as well. He is a decent defender and is averaging a combined 1 steal and block per game.

He is playing really for the Pelicans of late but it does not seem to be enough for them. In the loss to the Sacramento Kings, Randle had 18 points, along with 9 rebounds and 2 assists, but it wasn't enough. Randle will look to keep it going against the Dallas Mavericks and try to get a win for the Pelicans.

Alternate pick: Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls)