NBA schedule: Kings host Pelicans in battle of dominant young big men

It's a rather light Tuesday slate in the NBA, but one matchup stands out among the four on the evening. That would be the Kings and Pelicans, where two dominant young big men in DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis will do battle. Let's take a look at the whole schedule for Tuesday.

Lakers at Hawks, 7:30 p.m. ET

The Lakers are on pace for a historically bad defensive season, and head coach Byron Scott may be ready to change things up a bit after giving up a whopping 136 points at home against the Warriors on Sunday night. One possible "solution" is moving Ed Davis into the starting lineup over Carlos Boozer to provide some rim protection, but that might not be enough to change anything given the overall talent deficiency. Considering the way Los Angeles plays defense, look for Kyle Korver to get plenty of wide open looks from three. Korver is shooting 57.7 percent from three on the season and will try and help move the Hawks to 5-0 at Philips Arena. One positive for the Lakers is the return of Nick Young from a thumb injury, although that likely won't help the defense problem.

Knicks at Bucks, 8 p.m. ET

After posting the NBA's worst record last season, the Bucks are one the fun early surprises this year. Milwaukee is 5-5 after a nice win in Miami, and most of the improvement can be pinned on the defense. The Bucks are giving up just 94.7 points per 100 possessions, which is good for second in the league, per NBA.com. Having a healthy Larry Sanders to patrol the paint is a big help, as Milwaukee is allowing just 48.1 percent shooting at the rim, per SportVU. The Knicks will try and make it two wins in a row after a convincing victory over Denver. Carmelo Anthony has found his stroke after a rough starting, averaging 33.7 points on 63.2 percent shooting over the last three games.

The Pelicans had the Trail Blazers on the ropes Monday night in Portland, but a fourth-quarter collapse resulted in a disappointing loss. Davis had 31 points and 11 rebounds, but he only scored six points on five shots in the final frame. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans combined to go 0-of-14 in the quarter as New Orleans managed to score just 13 points. Davis will try and erase the bad taste of that loss from his mouth when he goes up against Cousins in what should be a fascinating matchup. While Davis has an otherworldly 37.11 PER, Cousins is fifth in the league with a PER of 27.25. Rudy Gay might sit out due to Achilles tendinitis, which would be a blow to the Kings' chances in this one.

Thunder at Jazz, 9 p.m. ET (Fox Sports Oklahoma, ROOT Sports, NBA League Pass)