New Orleans has only seven wins on the season and the Lakers are the only team keeping the Pelicans out of the basement in the West. But two of those win are against Phoenix and the Suns stagger home after a beating by the Warriors on Wednesday. The Suns outscored the Warriors by 15 points in the fourth and still lost by 25.
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LOOK AHEAD
New Orleans has home wins over San Antonio, Cleveland and Dallas, but they’ve been horrible on the road. And that’s not good when you’re on a five-game trip. The Pelicans fell to 1-12 away from the Smoothie King Center by dropping the first two of the trip in Chicago and Portland. But they ended their five-game road skid by knocking off the Jazz, 104-94, on Wednesday. Getting some key players back in the lineup should help the record, but it has taken time for Norris Cole, Tyreke Evans and Kendrick Perkins to get their legs back. And, unfortunately, in the cut-throat Western Conference, it might be too late. Stringing some wins together would be a step in the right direction and the Pelicans visit the only other team they’ve beaten on the road. In fact two of New Orleans’ seven wins have come against the Suns, knocking them off in consecutive games late last month. The Pels won 122-116 and home and won in Phoenix 120-114 three days later.
INJURIES
Pelicans’ forward Quincy Pondexter has yet to play this season due to a knee injury and remains out indefinitely.
Coach Alvin Gentry continues to restrict the minutes of point guard Jrue Holiday. Coming back from a severe lower leg injury, Holiday is averaging 23 minutes per game while being limited to 25 a contest. Gentry said the minute restriction will be lifted in two weeks.
Markeiff Morris didn’t play against Golden State on Wednesday, sitting his fourth straight game and seventh in the last eight. Morris has fallen hard in the team’s rotation and has been mentioned in trade rumors with several teams, including the Pelicans.
KEY MATCHUP
While the Pelicans languish near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, talk about the greatness of Anthony Davis has subsided a bit. The big man was all the rage last season leading the Pels to a playoff spot. Now he’s reduced to being the best player on a bad team. Whether the team turns its season around or not, Davis is going to remain the centerpiece of Gentry’s offense. He will continue taking the most shots, scoring the most points and being counted on to make most of the decisive plays down the stretch. His emergence has also made him a bigger target for opposing teams to concentrate on stopping. But Davis has countered that by expanding his game, trying to become more of a three-point threat than last season. He’s made 13 of 42 three-pointers already this season after going just 1 of 12 from three-point range in 2014-15. Davis has been good, but he hasn’t enjoyed as many dominant performances leading to wins like last season. But let’s remember, he’s still only 22-years-old.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Pelicans have had a tough time beating anyone this basketball season, except the Phoenix Suns. Two of New Orleans’ seven wins have come against the Suns, and those were in consecutive games. The Pels have struggled and if not for the Lakers would own the worst record in the Western Conference. Injuries have been a huge factor in New Orleans’ slow start, starting the year without Evans, Cole and Holiday. Now that those guys are back we could expect a run from the Pels to maybe get close to .500. Or not. They still have Davis in the middle and he continues to play like the superstar he’s become. If the Pels can get some secondary scoring and not rely so heavily on Davis to determine the outcome of games, they may actually get going. A win at Utah on Wednesday snapped a five-game road skid and was just their third cover in the last 10 games. They covered the spread in their earlier wins over Phoenix and easily cashed the over with their two highest scoring games. Phoenix got manhandled by Golden State Wednesday and limps home after dropping both games of a quick road trip. Expect a better effort from the Suns, but the Pelicans are ready to fly.
New Orleans 115, Phoenix 110
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