A look at three key numbers related to Saturday’s game at Quicken Loans Arena between New Orleans and Cleveland (6:30 p.m., Fox Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM):
4, 28: Ranks among the 30 NBA teams in offensive efficiency for Cleveland and defensive efficiency for New Orleans, respectively. While averaging 106.4 points per 100 possessions (via NBA.com), the Cavaliers are one of the league’s highest-powered attacks, led by a well-known trio of players who can go for 30-plus points on any given night. This makes the defensive end of the floor a significant challenge Saturday for New Orleans, which allows 106.6 points per 100 possessions. The Pelicans have improved defensively since the early portion of the regular season, but are still on their way to a bottom-tier finish in efficiency for a fourth consecutive time. New Orleans also ranks exactly 28th in three-point defense percentage and free-throw defense percentage, the latter a category that mostly reflects bad luck (free throws obviously can’t be defended).
2: Year of their NBA careers that LeBron James and Anthony Davis made their All-Star debuts, which was one season before they reached the big stage of spring basketball. One aspect of James’ early days as a pro that’s often forgotten is that he did not appear in the playoffs until his third season, after Cleveland finished 33-49 and 42-40 prior to that. Davis broke through for his initial NBA postseason appearance in Year 3 as well, leading New Orleans to a 45-37 mark last spring. The Pelicans (18-31) face a fairly monumental task in returning to the playoffs now, because they trail eighth-place Utah (24-25) by six games in the Western Conference.
5-3: Cleveland’s won-loss record under new head coach Tyronn Lue, who replaced the fired David Blatt on Jan. 22, four days after the Cavs were routed by defending NBA champion Golden State. The decision to make the change was initially criticized nationally, then mildly praised in recent days after Cleveland put together a five-game winning streak, highlighted by a convincing win over San Antonio. However, the Cavs have dropped two games in a row, losing at Charlotte and to Boston last night in Cleveland. They were 30-11 under Blatt.