The Nets look to push their winning streak to five games and inch closer to home-court advantage with a game in New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center against the 29-40 New Orleans Pelicans tonight.
BY SAM LACHOW
| Brooklyn Nets |
Breakdown |
New Orleans Pelicans |
| 37-31 | Record | 29-40 |
| 8-2 | Last 10 Games | 6-4 |
| 103.8 | Points scored per 100 possessions | 105.1 |
| 104.0 | Points allowed per 100 possessions | 107.1 |
| 93.9 | Possessions per game | 94.5 |
| 45.5% | Field goal percentage | 46.0% |
| 37.1% | Three-point percentage | 37.1% |
| 47.1% | Rebound percentage | 50.1% |
| 15.2% | Turnover percentage | 14.5% |
| Joe Johnson (15.4) | Top Scorer | Anthony Davis (21.7) |
Projected starting lineup: Brian Roberts, Tyreke Evans, Luke Babbitt, Al-Farouq Aminu, Anthony Davis
Monty Williams’ New Orleans squad is young and erratic, and injuries to Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson have derailed their squad. The Pelicans are efficient on offense, but play a plodding pace that keeps numbers down in a game.
Even though the Pelicans have an emerging two-way superstar in Anthony Davis, who’s averaged a ridiculous 32.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks on 58 percent shooting in his last eight games, the Pelicans still struggle on the defensive end. The Pelicans allow 102.3 points per game, and they rebound almost as poorly as the Nets. This could be attributed to poor defensive play from Babbitt, Evans and even Gordon.
Given the lack of healthy talent on the Pelicans roster, Davis is the one player the Nets need to watch out for. He’s developing far, far ahead of schedule, putting up an historic season in a year where he turned 21 less than two weeks ago.
In his last game against the Nets, Davis had 24 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block in a loss. But he also did this against the Miami Heat Saturday night.
The Nets beat the Pelicans easily in their last meeting. While Davis had a great game, rookie Mason Plumlee equally matched his play, producing 22 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
Tipoff at 8:00 P.M. EST.
