Pelicans Travel to Jacksonville to Take on Hawks Tonight

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Published: October 9, 2015

The Pelicans take on another Eastern Conference team in their second game, as they return to Jacksonville once again for a preseason contest. In the initial game we saw the key players get significant minutes early, and then rode the end of the rotation guys late to victory. Tonight might be slightly different as injuries early in training camp are forcing Gentry’s hand, and he will have to use the remaining preseason games to experiment with lineups that he might need to use to start the season.

Anthony Davis should see more time at center, as will Ryan Anderson, and Gentry also needs to see if Kendrick Perkins has anything left in the tank. Atlanta plays an uptempo style, but they have some size with Al Horford and Tiago Splitter, so it will be interesting to see how Gentry uses lineups against a team that is similar in size and scheme to their opening opponent, the Golden State Warriors.

In their first preseason game, the Hawks starters all got around 20 minutes – most of which came in the first half, and it would be logical to expect the same tonight. With Jrue Holiday coming off the bench, it will be interesting to see who they start on Jeff Teague. Tyreke Evans will be listed on the program as “point guard”, but more often than not, it would make the most sense for Eric Gordon to defend the opposing point guard.

This game could also give us an idea of how the Pelicans are going to defend the three-point line and should show us a glimpse of their transition defense. Overall, the Hawks provide a good test for a now undermanned Pelicans team. Sadly, we won’t be able to watch it on TV and will be limited to radio. Thankfully that comes to an end in the next preseason game, as the Pelicans-Bulls matchup on Monday will be broadcast on NBATV.

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