The New Orleans Pelicans (30-49) host the Phoenix Suns (21-58) tonight at the Smoothie King Center. The game starts at 6 pm CT (UTC -5) and is on Fox Sports New Orleans and the Pelicans Radio Network.

Both teams have major issue on the court, but the Suns have been pure misery off the court, which likely has more to do with their record than their own fair share of injury woes. I’ll not here that I haven’t heard much about Phoenix’s training staff much this season. Interesting.

At any rate, this game, like the last, has the potential to be fun since both teams are just so bad. The Pelicans, for instance, shot over 50% last night. The Pelicans did sandbag their play a little, which is why the win over the Lakers was not significantly larger, but the minutes counts were still high. Anyone watching the game, however, knows that not all minutes are equal . . . this, incidentally, is a great way to spot a box score watcher and a lazy analyst. The Suns have been on the road, last playing Thursday when they defeated the Rockets, which is just hilarious. Aside: As noted here recently, Morey may be on the hot seat, which should make two groups of people very nervous: analysts who think numbers tell all you need to know about the game (along with a little canned vocabulary designed to fool number nerds, not basketball aficionados), and anyone who wants Dell Demps, Alvin Gentry fired. Assuming the latter is on the table, and I’m not convinced it is, the larger number of desirable jobs on the market reduces the expected return in a GM search (unless something is in place, which could be good or bad), which lowers the likelihood of deciding to let him go. If the decision has been made, then the Morey thing is no of no concern.

Back to the game, besides the potential for fun on the court, look for a battle of ideologies of team-building at work. Some think winning matters more than losing in the cases of lottery teams whose position is volatile, some would rather emphasize increasing the chances, however minute, of getting a top pick or raising the expected floor of the quality of the draft pick.

From where I sit, the Pelicans will be trying to win and can, and they will do so over the next 3 games. The Suns can win, and they are also jockeying for position in the lottery as their team infrastructure is “under construction.”

Watch for ball movement, rebounds, and attacking guards. Enjoy.