New Orleans Pelicans @ Phoenix Suns

By:
Published: December 18, 2015

The New Orleans Pelicans (7-18) look to take the season series against the Phoenix Suns (11-16) tonight in Phoenix, leaving just one game against them and on this road trip. The Pelicans are coming off a win against the short-handed Jazz, while the Suns are coming off a pair of road losses to (I hate) the Mavericks and the Warriors on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.

The Pelicans have no new injuries to report and are projected to start Asik, Davis, Gee, Evans, and Gordon. The Suns are projected to start Bledsoe, Knight, Chandler, Leuer, and Tucker.

The Suns run an efficient offense, but they also allow their opponents to operate efficiently. Phoenix plays at a fast pace, which could help the Pelicans since this is what they aim to do, as well. The Suns also commit turnovers at a high rate (14.8%, surpassed only by Philadephia’s 16.8% . . . It’s Always Sunny?), so the Pelicans may have a chance to help their offense and defense by generating points of turnovers in this game by disrupting the opposing guards and their passes. The Suns also do not get to the line very much, relative to other means of scoring, so the Pelicans may be able to be a little more aggressive on defense, which is good since aggression has served them well this season. Lastly, the Suns do not allow many trips to the line, again, relative to shot attempts, so getting to the line may be a difference-maker for the Pelicans. Davis gets to the line often, so feeding Davis may be even more important than normal.

The game is scheduled to start at 9:30 pm CT (UTC -6), and is on ESPN, Fox Sports New Orleans, and the Pelicans Radio Network, 99.5 FM locally. Be sure to check us out on twitter during the game.

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.