behind the numbers

Jim Eichenhofer

A look at three key numbers related to Thursday’s Western Conference first round Game 6 in the Smoothie King Center between Phoenix and New Orleans (6:30 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, TNT, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

0: Times over the past 10 seasons that New Orleans has participated in a Game 6 or 7, with its lone playoff-series victory during that span coming in a 2018 sweep over Portland. Among current Pelicans players, CJ McCollum is 2-1 in his NBA career in Game 6s, scoring at least 20 points in each instance, as well as 30 in a victory over Denver in 2019. McCollum has been part of a team that trailed 3-2 in a Western Conference series but went on to win, with his ’19 Trail Blazers eliminating the Nuggets in Game 7. McCollum closed out Denver by pouring in 37 points in Colorado. Jonas Valanciunas is 2-3 career in Game 6s, all with Toronto from 2014-18. Other Pelicans roster members with previous Game 6 playing experience are Tony Snell (2-2), Larry Nance Jr. (1-1, in 2018 with Cleveland) and Garrett Temple (1-3). Gary Clark was the only other New Orleans player who’d been to the playoffs prior to 2022, but Clark never appeared in a Game 6 with his Houston or Orlando postseason clubs.

104: Total points scored by New Orleans rookies in the playoffs (Herbert Jones 48, Jose Alvarado 37, Trey Murphy III 19), more than doubling the aggregate from the first-year pros of any other team. Denver is second on the list with 46 points, which means that Jones by himself has produced more offense than the rookies from any of the other 15 clubs. Jones, Murphy and Alvarado rank 1-3-5 individually in total minutes logged by rookies in the playoffs, with that top five rounded out by Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and Denver’s Bones Hyland. Not surprisingly, Jones leads all rookies in both steals (seven) and blocks (five, including multiple rejections of Phoenix three-point attempts).

238-182: New Orleans total rebounding advantage in the series, after the Pelicans have won the board battle in all five games. NOLA’s edge in offensive boards is an even more staggering ratio at 79-40, but the Pelicans haven’t always been able to take advantage of the extra opportunities because they’re shooting 45.4 percent from the field, compared to Phoenix’s excellent rate of 50.9. Both teams have struggled from three-point range in the series, with the Pelicans holding an edge at 35.8 percent, while the Suns have only made 30.8 percent of their looks from deep. Valanciunas is leading the NBA playoffs in rebounding average (15.6) and offensive rebounding average (6.2) by a significant margin in those respective categories over second-place Giannis Antetokounmpo (13.4) and Rudy Gobert (4.0).

Chris Paul, Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton

Reserves: Landry Shamet, Cam Payne, JaVale McGee, Bismack Biyombo, Aaron Holiday

Notes: Devin Booker remains listed as out by the Suns due to a right hamstring strain. Dario Saric has missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a right ACL tear. … Phoenix’s foul shooting has dipped by 1.5 percentage points in the playoffs. The Suns ranked seventh in the NBA during the regular season at 79.7, but are shooting 78.2 percent through five games against New Orleans. Of course, Booker was Phoenix’s best foul shooter during the regular season (86.8 percent).

CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Brandon Ingram, Jaxson Hayes, Jonas Valanciunas

Reserves: Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance, Trey Murphy III, Devonte’ Graham, Naji Marshall

Notes: New Orleans’ foul shooting has dipped by 2.3 percentage points in the playoffs. The Pelicans ranked 10th in the NBA during the regular season at 78.9, but are shooting 76.6 percent through five games against Phoenix. … New Orleans shot exactly 40 percent in Game 5, its ninth-worst shooting percentage from the field all season, out of 89 outings. The Pelicans have shot under 30 percent from three-point range in two straight games, but also held the Suns under that rate in both Game 3 and 4.

New Orleans has needed second-half rallies consistently throughout this series, trailing at halftime in every game. Valanciunas stressed after Game 5 that the Pelicans need to bring the same level of energy at the outset of contests as they do all night. That’s potentially even more the case Thursday for a tip-off that’s a bit earlier than normal (6:30 p.m.).

While limiting New Orleans to just 97 points in Game 5, Phoenix’s defense looked every bit of the third-ranked unit it was during the regular season. Bridges and Ayton blocked four shots apiece, a chunk of why the Pelicans only shot 40 percent from the field. New Orleans needs to generate more fast-break opportunities, to prevent Phoenix from being able to set its formidable halfcourt defense.

At forward, Ingram has been one of the best players across the entire NBA in the playoffs, averaging 28, six and five, while Bridges authored arguably his best postseason performance as a pro in Game 5, depositing 31 points.

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Behind the Numbers: Suns at Pelicans (Game 6)

A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s Western Conference quarterfinal playoff game at Footprint Center between New Orleans and Phoenix (8 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, TNT, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

10-2: New Orleans record since the All-Star break when Brandon Ingram plays. It’s difficult to find a national prediction anywhere that projects this Pelicans-Suns series to go beyond five games and a 4-1 Phoenix triumph, but perhaps the best case for New Orleans being more competitive than that comes from its recent performance with the 2020 All-Star forward in the lineup. The first of those 10 victories with Ingram was Feb. 25 on Phoenix’s home floor (although Chris Paul was sidelined for the Suns due to injury). The only games New Orleans has lost with Ingram since the midseason hiatus were in overtime March 6 at Denver and an April defeat at the Clippers, the team the Pelicans just eliminated from the play-in tournament. Six of the 10 wins have been by double digits, including a 34-point rout over Utah.

11: New Orleans players on its 17-man roster who’ve never appeared in the NBA playoffs, a group that includes three rookies (Herbert Jones, Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy III) figuring prominently in the club’s rotation. CJ McCollum leads the Pelicans in playoff experience with 57 career games, followed by Jonas Valanciunas (48), Tony Snell (47), Garrett Temple (30), Larry Nance Jr. (20, all with Cleveland in 2018) and Gary Clark (seven). According to Basketball Reference, Brandon Ingram has played the fourth-most games of any active player without appearing in the playoffs (368), behind only Zach LaVine (478), Buddy Hield (468) and Brandon Knight (451). With Ingram and LaVine both debuting in the playoffs Sunday, that will push former Pelicans guard Hield (now with Indiana) to the top of the list. Incidentally, four-year pro and New Orleans guard Devonte’ Graham ranks 86th in league history (240 games with no playoff appearance) but is also about to see his name removed.

2: NBA rookie head coaches to lead their teams to the 2022 playoffs, a group that consists of Willie Green of New Orleans and Ime Udoka of Boston. Green faced a bit more of a daunting challenge in terms of reaching the postseason, with the Pelicans coming off three straight non-playoff years, capped by a 31-41 record during the shortened 2020-21 regular season (Boston is making its eighth straight trip to the playoffs). Coincidentally, the last time a first-year NBA head coach led the New Orleans franchise to the playoffs was 11 years ago, when Monty Williams guided the then-Hornets to a spot in the West field. In a sign of how much change happens in the profession, Williams is already the 10th-longest tenured current NBA head coach, having been hired less than three years ago by Phoenix in May 2019.

Reserves: Trey Murphy III, Larry Nance, Jose Alvarado, Naji Marshall, Devonte’ Graham, Tony Snell

Notes: This starting group is 9-3, including the pair of play-in tournament wins. … New Orleans has only been an eighth seed one other time in team history (2015, swept by eventual NBA champion Golden State in first round). … Capped by Friday’s win, the Pelicans have won 11 of their last 16 road games, dating back to Feb. 1.

Aaron Holiday, Landry Shamet, Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, JaVale McGee

Reserves: Ish Wainright, Gabriel Lundberg, Bismack Biyombo, Torrey Craig, Elfrid Payton

Notes: This starting group went 0-1 and was together only to close out the regular season and give several key Suns a rest game. Bridges logged six minutes, joining only a handful of players across the NBA to play in 82 games this season. … Phoenix’s 64-18 record broke the franchise mark for victories. … The Suns have won 15 of their last 19 home games.

Phoenix’s fifth-ranked offense (114.2 rating) can be very explosive, as it has demonstrated multiple times over the past two seasons vs. New Orleans. The Suns notched eight 30-point quarters during the regular season against the Pelicans, including 36 in the fourth period to cap a Nov. 2 victory and 42 in the first stanza of a Jan. 4 triumph.

The Suns are very careful with the ball (fifth-best in turnover percentage), led by perennial assist-to-turnover leader Paul, but the Pelicans had some success in Arizona this season disrupting Phoenix. New Orleans finished with a season-high 17 steals Nov. 2, then came up with 10 in a Feb. 25 victory at Footprint Center. The Pelicans went 17-11 in the regular season when they recorded double-digit steals (only totaled six during play-in games).

At guard, there are a trio of players with thick NBA resumes. McCollum is making his ninth straight playoff appearance, but first with New Orleans. Paul and Booker both have been mentioned as MVP candidates. Paul is making his 12th consecutive playoff trip, a streak that began with the 2010-11 New Orleans Hornets, a team featuring Williams as head coach and Green as a reserve guard.

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Behind the Numbers: Pelicans at Suns (Game 1)

A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game in the Smoothie King Center between Golden State and New Orleans (8:30 p.m. Central, TNT, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

24th, 9th: New Orleans bench rankings in scoring average among the 30 NBA teams prior to the All-Star break, then after the midseason hiatus. Pelicans reserves put up 30.9 points per game through the club’s first 59 games (23-36 record), but over the last 22 contests (13-9) since a Feb. 24 win in Phoenix, the group has increased that figure to 39.8. Playing nearly exclusively off the bench, center Willy Hernangomez leads a very balanced effort from Pelicans subs, averaging 9.4 points since the All-Star break, followed by rookie forward Trey Murphy III (8.0), forward Naji Marshall (7.9), forward/center Larry Nance Jr. (7.4 in eight games with New Orleans) and Jose Alvarado (7.3). In his 22 appearances during the second half of the season, Alvarado has registered a positive plus-minus 14 times (also posted a break-even +0 at Charlotte), symbolic of a bench that has helped turn games in New Orleans’ favor over the past seven weeks.

88.1: Jonas Valanciunas foul shooting percentage in home games this season. As the Pelicans prepare to play their final Smoothie King Center contest of the 2021-22 regular campaign, the center’s accuracy on free throws is among several individual examples of the team becoming increasingly comfortable on its home floor. Among all NBA players who made at least 100 free throws at home this season, Valanciunas’ 88.1 rate ranks ninth, trailing a contingent of decorated shooters including Stephen Curry (first at 92.2), Trae Young (91.6), Kevin Durant (91.0) and James Harden (88.3). By comparison, Valanciunas shot 74.6 in his 36 road appearances. Meanwhile, Murphy ranks tied for No. 11 among all players in home three-point percentage (minimum 30 made threes) at 43.7. Murphy shot 33.7 percent from deep in 33 away games. Lastly, Jaxson Hayes ranks seventh in home field goal percentage (66.7), often feeding off the Smoothie King Center crowd – or getting fans out of their seats – with athletic dunks. Hayes shot 58.8 percent in his 34 road appearances.

3, 4: Golden State’s potential Western Conference seeding outcomes after Sunday night. The Warriors will face either Utah or Denver in the first round, a matchup that could be determined by their outcome in the Crescent City. If Dallas (51-30) wins at home Sunday against San Antonio, Golden State (52-29) must beat New Orleans in order to remain in the No. 3 spot. The NBA again scheduled Game 82s to tip off simultaneously in groups that affect each other’s status, which is why there are 8:30 starts scheduled for Golden State at New Orleans, San Antonio at Dallas, LA Lakers at Denver and Utah at Portland. The evening tip-offs were also necessitated by Golden State, New Orleans and San Antonio playing back-to-backs.

Jordan Poole, Damion Lee, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney

Notes: This group is 1-0, becoming the 29th different starting lineup used by Steve Kerr this season. … Klay Thompson (rest) did not play in the six-point Saturday win over the Spurs, but is expected to play Sunday. Stephen Curry (foot) and James Wiseman (knee) are out. … If West seeding doesn’t change Sunday, Golden State will face No. 6 Denver in the first round of the playoffs.

Devonte’ Graham, CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Jaxson Hayes, Jonas Valanciunas

Notes: This group is 3-4, one of 22 different starting lineups used by Willie Green this season. … New Orleans is 29-26 when Brandon Ingram plays this season, but 7-19 when he does not, including 2-10 on the road. Ingram was listed as questionable Saturday but did not play a second straight game. By NBA rule, teams must submit their injury report prior to 1 p.m. on the second day of a back-to-back.

Homecourt advantage will never be more important than Wednesday, when San Antonio comes to the Crescent City to play an elimination game. New Orleans has gradually gained a greater edge at home over the course of the season, going 19-15 since an 0-6 start. In the last three home games Ingram has played, the Pelicans beat Sacramento by 30 points, Utah by 34, then rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit to hand the Lakers a very costly defeat in the play-in race.

For the second time this weekend, New Orleans’ transition defense must be on high alert. Saturday’s opponent Memphis leads the NBA in fast-break scoring (17.7 ppg), while Golden State ranks seventh (13.9). This is a key factor on both ends of the floor, because New Orleans is actually sixth in the category (14.1).

With New Orleans locked in as the No. 9 seed, it’s uncertain how the Pelicans will approach Sunday’s game from a rotation and minutes standpoint, but it’s possible the bench could see a major increase in workload. That may also be true for the bench of Golden State, which planned to alternate rest games for key players during this weekend back-to-back.

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Behind the Numbers: Warriors at Pelicans (4/10/22)

A look at three key numbers related to Saturday’s game at FedEx Forum between New Orleans and Memphis (5 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, NBA TV, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

3, 11: Entering Friday’s slate of games, rank in winning percentage for Memphis and New Orleans among the 30 NBA teams since Feb. 1, with the Grizzlies going 20-7 (.741) and the Pelicans at 18-12 (.600). Only Boston (23-6) and Phoenix (23-8) have sported better records since Feb. 1 than Memphis, while within the Western Conference, New Orleans places seventh during that timeframe, not far behind Dallas (21-8), Minnesota (21-10), Denver (20-12) and Utah (18-11). Memphis and New Orleans both rank in the league’s top five in point differential over the past two-plus months, with the Grizzlies at plus-10.2 (second) over their last 27 games and the Pelicans at plus-6.2 (fourth) over their last 30. The other clubs in the top four are Boston (first, 13.4) and Phoenix (third, 7.4).

187: Combined steals (128) and blocks (59) this season for New Orleans starting wing Herbert Jones, tied for the franchise’s rookie record with Anthony Davis, who finished the 2012-13 campaign with 112 blocks and 75 steals. That means the next steal or block for Jones will make him the new all-time Pelicans rookie record holder in "stocks." Considering Jones is averaging 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, there’s a very good chance the Alabama product moves into the top spot this weekend against Memphis or Golden State. The 23-year-old has notched at least one steal or block in 14 consecutive games, having last been “shut out” March 9 vs. Orlando in 27 minutes played.

8: Trey Murphy III’s rank among all NBA players in three-point percentage (45.7) since the All-Star break (minimum 30 made trifectas). The Virginia product’s recent surge means that he’s made nearly as many threes in his past 19 games (32) as he did in his previous 41 games (36). Since a March 21 return to his home state to play a game at Charlotte, Murphy is 18/38 from distance, upping his efficiency significantly. Prior to the All-Star break, the 21-year-old was shooting 34 percent from both the field and three-point range, but since then he’s at 47 percent from the field, along with his big spike in three-ball accuracy. Incidentally, Memphis guard Desmond Bane is among the seven NBA players with a better post-break three-point percentage than Murphy, at 47.0.

Notes: This group is 3-3. New Orleans is 16-10 when Hayes starts this season. … The Pelicans are assured of facing San Antonio in the opening round of the play-in tournament Wednesday. The other matchup is also now set, with the LA Clippers visiting Minnesota on Tuesday in the 7-8 matchup. The loser of Clippers-Timberwolves will host the winner of Spurs-Pelicans on Friday, with that Friday contest determining the West’s eighth seed and Phoenix’s first-round playoff opponent.

Tyus Jones, Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr., Steven Adams

Notes: This group is 13-3. Memphis’ most common starting five is 13-5 and features Ja Morant and rookie Ziaire Williams, in place of Jones and Brooks. … The Grizzlies have been locked into the No. 2 seed for an extended period and therefore will face the seventh seed in the first round of the West quarterfinals. That will be determined Tuesday, when Minnesota hosts the Clippers in a play-in matchup.

It’s very simple for New Orleans to clinch the West’s ninth seed and guarantee it will be home Wednesday for the play-in tournament opener vs. San Antonio: win Saturday or Sunday. The Pelicans would prefer to get that out of the way in the first half of the back-to-back, which might allow for some flexibility with how they handle Sunday's lineups and minutes. New Orleans also will be ninth if San Antonio loses either of its weekend games (Saturday vs. Golden State, Sunday at Dallas).

The New Orleans bench seems to have quickly developed chemistry and benefited greatly from the March 24 rotation insertion of Larry Nance Jr., as well as Murphy’s recent breakout. Combined with Jose Alvarado, Willy Hernangomez and Naji Marshall on Thursday, the second unit led the way in the Pelicans’ reserves totaling 64 points and nine steals vs. Portland.

At guard, Bane has led Memphis in scoring with Morant sidelined, averaging 21.5 points over the last eight games. He’s been red-hot from the field (51 percent) and three-point range (57 percent) during that span. McCollum has tallied 20-plus points in 20 of his 24 games played for the Pelicans, averaging 25.6 points.

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Behind the Numbers: Pelicans at Grizzlies (4/9/22)

A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game at Crypto.com Arena between New Orleans and the LA Clippers (8:30 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, NBA TV, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

2: New Orleans magic number to clinch a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament, which is scheduled for April 12-15. The Pelicans need any combination of their wins and Lakers losses adding up to two to get the job done, which means it could happen as soon as Sunday (the Lakers host Denver this afternoon in the same building). If New Orleans doesn’t wrap up a play-in berth today, Tuesday’s schedule features the Pelicans (34-43) closing their current four-game road trip in Sacramento, while the Lakers (31-46) have a difficult matchup at Phoenix, in a rematch of the 2021 NBA playoffs. Meanwhile, the magic number for New Orleans to earn the No. 9 seed in the West is four – any combination of their wins and San Antonio losses. The Spurs (32-45) host Portland this evening, then visit Denver on Tuesday. The Nuggets could play a prominent role in how the final spot in the play-in race shakes out, because in an April 10 finale for both clubs, Denver hosts the Lakers.

53.1: Combined scoring averages of Brandon Ingram (27.6) and CJ McCollum (25.5) since the All-Star break, ranking 15th and 19th among all NBA players, respectively. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, Ingram has only played in eight of the team’s 18 games during that span, while McCollum was forced to sit out two contests after being placed in health and safety protocols. When both have been in uniform, New Orleans has won seven of its last eight games, with the only defeat coming in overtime at Denver. The duo’s big scoring numbers have also come with sky-high efficiency – Ingram is shooting 56 percent from the field since the All-Star break, while McCollum is at 50 percent (38 percent on three-pointers). Perhaps just as impressively, Ingram (6.8 apg) and McCollum (6.5 apg) also rank in the NBA’s top 20 in assist average since the midseason hiatus, holding the No. 17 and 18 spots.

0-8, 14-10: New Orleans record in clutch games through Thanksgiving, followed by its record in clutch games since then. There are many statistics one could use that demonstrate the Pelicans’ epic in-season turnaround from a rocky start, but performance under pressure is one of the best. New Orleans was the NBA’s worst clutch team during the first month of 2021-22, but since Turkey Day, it has compiled a clutch winning percentage of 58.3, the league’s eighth-best rate over that timeframe. All seven teams ranked higher than the Pelicans since Nov. 25 are in playoff position, a group that includes Phoenix (80.0 winning percentage), Memphis, Chicago, Miami, Milwaukee, Denver and Toronto (slightly ahead of NOLA at 59.4). Incidentally, the other teams vying with the Pelicans for play-in position rank 16th (San Antonio is 14-14) and 26th (the Lakers are 12-21) in clutch win percentage since Nov. 25.

Notes: This group is 7-2. The only other lineup that’s been used more than five times by New Orleans all season was a pre-trade combination that featured Devonte’ Graham and Josh Hart instead of McCollum and Hayes. … If the season ended today, New Orleans would host No. 10 seed San Antonio in the opening round of the West play-in tournament. The winner of that game would then meet the loser of the 7-8 play-in matchup with the conference’s final playoff berth at stake.

Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, Robert Covington, Ivica Zubac

Notes: This group is 1-0, making it the 26th different starting lineup used by the Clippers this season. … Covington logged a staggering 45 minutes Friday despite LA beating Milwaukee by 34 points. Covington drained 11 three-pointers en route to a career-high 43 points. … The Clippers can’t finish higher than eighth in the West. A win Sunday locks them into the No. 8 seed and a potential play-in matchup at No. 7 Minnesota (44-34), but the Wolves still have a chance to gain a higher seed. ... Seven-time All-Star Paul George didn't play Friday in the second game of a back-to-back, but he was not listed on Saturday's Clippers injury report.

New Orleans has played like it has a vendetta against the City of Angels all season, going a combined 6-0 against the Lakers and Clippers, including winning all three visits to Crypto.com Arena. If the Pelicans beat the Clippers on Sunday, it will be the first time in franchise history that New Orleans has gone undefeated against both of Los Angeles’ NBA teams in the same season. The Pelicans have won five straight head-to-head games against the Clippers, but they still have a long way to go to match their longest win streak against them (14 in a row, including three straight season-series sweeps from 2007-08 through 2009-10).

After beating the Clippers by margins of 13, 19 and 24 points earlier this season, the Pelicans don’t appear to need much more help, but they’ll get it Sunday in the greater presences of first-year pros Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III, who were not big factors in the previous matchups. Alvarado has only played in one game vs. the Clippers, while Murphy totaled just six minutes over three brief appearances.

At center, another international battle will take place between Valanciunas (Lithuania) and Zubac (Croatia). Valanciunas has been a monster this season while facing the Clippers, averaging 27.7 points and shooting 58 percent from the field. Incredibly, he is 14/20 from three-point range against LA, highlighted by a 7/8 game on Nov. 29. Those 14 makes represent roughly one-fourth of the 57 he’s hit this season in 158 attempts (36 percent).

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Behind the Numbers: Pelicans at Clippers (4/3/22)

A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game at the Smoothie King Center between Los Angeles and New Orleans (6 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

9: Place in the Western Conference for Sunday’s winner, with only a half-game separating the Lakers (31-42) and Pelicans (31-43). As was the case Saturday, tonight’s matchup is not just another game for New Orleans, as it tries to cement a berth in next month’s Western Conference play-in tournament – as well as earn the No. 9 seed, which carries homecourt advantage in the 9 vs. 10, loser-is-eliminated game. A victory Sunday by the Pelicans would guarantee they remain in ninth place at least until Wednesday, when they launch a four-game road trip at Portland. If New Orleans can win both of its games over the next six nights against the Lakers, on paper the Pelicans would be in good position to ultimately finish ahead of L.A. in the standings, because the California franchise has a daunting upcoming schedule. Aside from the two games vs. the Pelicans, the Lakers have six games left against top-six West foes (at Dallas, at Utah, Denver twice, at Phoenix, at Golden State), with just one opponent under .500 (Oklahoma City on April 8). NOLA’s next six games are all against teams sporting losing records, though it lost to one (San Antonio) yesterday.

15.0: Jose Alvarado points per game since March 19, tying him for 14th in the NBA in individual bench scoring average during that timeframe (he’s eighth in that span if you only include players who’ve made at least three appearances as a reserve, led by Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic at 22.0 ppg in three recent outings). You already knew Alvarado was excellent in assist-to-turnover ratio (he’s eighth in the NBA among players with 40-plus games at 3.97), but lately he’s become a dangerous scorer, putting up 15 points apiece in wins over Atlanta and Chicago, then dropping in a career-best 23 points against San Antonio on Saturday. Over the last four games, Alvarado is shooting 50 percent from the field, 43 percent from three-point range and 89 percent at the foul line (8/9). As is the case for many NBA rookie point guards, the Georgia Tech product struggled with his shooting efficiency early in 2021-22, but his season rates are now 43.5/31.6/72.7. Since Feb. 1, he’s shooting 46 percent from the floor (39 percent prior to that).

7: With so much happening related to the Crescent City’s basketball team lately, it’s gone mostly under the radar, but center Jonas Valanciunas is in the midst of a fantastic stretch. He’s notched seven consecutive double-doubles, his second-longest streak in that category of the season (he put together 11 in a row in October/November). Over every NBA team’s last five games, the native of Lithuania leads the league in rebounding (14.4 rpg), anchoring New Orleans’ defense by grabbing 10.6 at that end of the floor. This season, the 29-year-old has pulled down 18-plus rebounds four times, including in both of the last two games (19 vs. Chicago, 18 vs. San Antonio). Valanciunas has also shot at least 57 percent from the field in six of the last seven games.

Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, Wenyen Gabriel, Dwight Howard

Notes: This group is 0-1. It became the 35th different starting lineup the Lakers have used this season. By comparison, last season Los Angeles used 25 in a 72-game schedule. … LeBron James (knee) was listed as questionable on Saturday’s injury report. … Los Angeles owns a 1.5-game lead on No. 11 San Antonio (30-44). The Lakers and Spurs split their season series 2-2; the next tiebreaking step is conference record. If they finish with the same overall record, San Antonio wins the two-team tiebreaker based on a better West record (the Lakers finished 15-15 vs. the East; the Spurs were 10-20).

Notes: This group is 2-3, fourth in wins among the 21 different starting lineups New Orleans has used this season. … Brandon Ingram (hamstring) was listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against San Antonio but did not play, missing his 10th straight game (the Pelicans are 4-6 in that span). By league rules, New Orleans will submit an updated injury report for Sunday’s game prior to the 1 p.m. local deadline for a back-to-back. … The Pelicans lead the Lakers 1-0 in their season series, but lost their season series to the 11th-place Spurs 3-1.

There were many reasons behind why New Orleans routed the Lakers in the clubs’ only meeting so far this season Feb. 27, but near the top of the list: the Pelicans forced 23 turnovers by the hosts at Crypto.com Arena. Los Angeles is third-to-last in the NBA in turnovers per game (14.6), better than only Golden State (14.9) and Houston (16.6).

Saturday’s loss to San Antonio was a rarity in that not only was New Orleans outrebounded, but by a relatively large margin (49-42). The Pelicans pounded the Lakers 51-38 in boards during the Feb. 27 matchup in Southern California.

In a meeting of decorated, veteran guards, McCollum and Westbrook are about as familiar opponents as it gets in the NBA, with both having spent the majority of the 2010s competing in the Northwest Division for Portland and Oklahoma City, respectively. They also met in one of the more contentious recent first-round playoff series in 2019, won by the Trail Blazers 4-1 on Damian Lillard’s deep three-pointer and wave goodbye to the Thunder.

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Behind the Numbers: Lakers at Pelicans (3/27/22)

A look at three key numbers related to Saturday’s game at the Smoothie King Center between San Antonio and New Orleans (4 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

2: Seasons in New Orleans franchise history that the team has finished ahead of San Antonio in the standings (2007-08, 2017-18). While trying to reach this spring’s play-in tournament, the 2021-22 Pelicans have the relatively rare opportunity to place above the Southwest Division rival Spurs in the Western Conference, something that’s only previously been achieved by NOLA’s ’08 division champions (who incidentally were eliminated in Game 7 of the West semifinals by… San Antonio) and an ’18 squad that got red-hot in April. With New Orleans (31-42) currently in front of San Antonio (29-44) by two games, Saturday’s showdown carries the significance of more than “just one game,” considering that a Pelicans victory nearly seals the tiebreaking edge (more on that later), while a Spurs win would clinch the tiebreaker for the silver and black. Both teams only have eight games remaining after Saturday’s meeting, so a New Orleans victory would basically reduce its magic number to qualify for the play-in tourney down to *five. In terms of the tiebreaker, if the Pelicans win Saturday, it would even the season series with the Spurs at two apiece; the second step among two teams from the same division is division record. By defeating San Antonio on Saturday, New Orleans would improve to 7-8 in the division, meaning it can finish no worse than 7-9 (an April 9 game at Memphis wraps up the Pels’ Southwest slate). Meanwhile, a San Antonio loss Saturday would drop the Spurs to 4-9 in the division. The Spurs could then only go 7-9 (at best) in-division by sweeping one remaining game apiece vs. Houston, Memphis and Dallas, a very difficult task.

1,178: New Orleans points scored by rookies this season, ranking seventh in the NBA. The six teams ahead of the Pelicans in that stat all boast a 2021 lottery pick (Oklahoma City, Houston, Orlando, Indiana, Toronto, Detroit). No. 35 overall draft selection Herbert Jones tops Pelicans rookies with 674 points, while undrafted first-year guard Jose Alvarado and first-round pick Trey Murphy III have contributed 260 and 244 points, respectively. Not surprisingly considering the defensive skill and anticipation of Jones and Alvarado, New Orleans rookies are No. 1 in steals (187), placing just ahead of OKC (179) in that department despite logging roughly half of the minutes of Thunder first-year players. “Those guys are getting better and better,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said Thursday of his newcomers. “It’s great to see. Especially from where we were, to where we are now. This is the vision we kind of have for our group.” Over the last 10 days, New Orleans rookies are fifth in the NBA in scoring (27.4 ppg) and second in assists (8.4 apg), demonstrating their increasing impact.

10: Pelicans rank among the 30 NBA teams this season in foul shooting percentage (78.9), a dramatic improvement from finishing just 29th last season with a rate of 72.9 (only rebuilding OKC was worse at 72.5). Improbably, after shooting only 60.4 percent during his four-year college career at Alabama, Jones enters this weekend leading New Orleans at 85.5 percent. Jones is one of four Pelicans to shoot over 80 percent at the charity stripe in over 100 attempts (Devonte’ Graham 84.2, Jonas Valanciunas 82.4, Brandon Ingram 81.6). New Orleans closed out its 17-point victory Thursday over Chicago by sinking 14 consecutive fourth-quarter free throws – during part of that stretch, the Pelicans chose Willy Hernangomez (76 percent) to shoot a pair resulting from technical fouls whistled against ejected Bulls reserve Tristan Thompson. New Orleans has made season-long improvements in an array of categories, but it has also been a better team at the foul line recently, shooting 84.9 percent since March 15, sixth in the NBA over the span.

Dejounte Murray, Josh Primo, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Jakob Poeltl

Notes: This group is 2-1, making its debut as a group in the March 18 home loss to New Orleans, followed by road wins over Golden State and Portland. … San Antonio has used 19 different starting lineups this season. … Following Saturday’s game in the Crescent City, San Antonio’s remaining schedule is all against the West, with a mixture of top-tier clubs (Memphis, Golden State), projected playoff or play-in qualifiers (Denver, Minnesota, Dallas), an April 1-3 home “baseball series” vs. Portland and Monday’s trip to Houston.

Notes: This group is 2-2. That’s part of a stretch in which New Orleans has won four of its last six games, making a slight improvement on its record this season when Brandon Ingram (hamstring) is sidelined. The Pelicans are now 6-17 when the 2020 All-Star does not play, but 25-25 when he does. … New Orleans must win Saturday to maintain its ninth-place status in the West. The Lakers (31-42) are off from games this weekend until their Sunday stop in the Smoothie King Center. That starts a difficult three-game road trip for Los Angeles that continues in Dallas and Utah.

It doesn’t take a basketball genius to figure out what’s determined New Orleans’ success, or lack thereof, in three head-to-head matchups vs. San Antonio this season. The Spurs rolled to 112 and 124 points in December and February wins over the Pelicans, but were held to just 91 on March 18 and were routed by 33.

One of the “pressing questions” after Thursday’s win over Chicago was whether or not Graham will keep his revamped hairstyle, after the fourth-year NBA guard poured in a season-best 30 points while sporting a new ’do. Regardless of what’s atop his noggin, the Pelicans benefit greatly when Graham is clicking from the perimeter, beating the likes of the Bulls, Bucks and Wolves when he’s tallied 20-plus points this season.

There couldn’t be a bigger contrast in pro experience at shooting guard. Nine-year NBA veteran McCollum has 581 regular season and 57 playoff games under his belt, while San Antonio rookie Primo is 19 and was the league’s youngest player entering 2021-22. An Alabama product, Primo has averaged 5.2 points and 1.5 assists in 41 total games at this level (seven starts).

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Behind the Numbers: Spurs at Pelicans (3/26/22)

A look at three key numbers related to Monday’s game at Spectrum Center between New Orleans and Charlotte (6 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):

1: New Orleans rank among the 30 NBA teams in steals since the All-Star break, with an average of 10.8 that leads the league by a significant margin (Minnesota is next at 9.7). Dating back to Jan. 15, when rookie backup point guard Jose Alvarado first logged more than 15 minutes in a game, the Pelicans are second in steals average (9.1, behind only Memphis’ 9.4), a season turning point in the category. Prior to that, New Orleans was actually below average in thievery, with a steals average of 7.3 placing it just 18th through 42 games played. Among all NBA players who’ve played at least 500 minutes this season, Alvarado is No. 1 in steals per 36 minutes, averaging 3.2, while fellow Pelicans rookie Herbert Jones ranks 23rd at 1.9. When reducing it to only games played since the All-Star break, Alvarado is also tops in the league (minimum 200 minutes played) at 3.8 steals per 36 minutes, while Jones is sixth (2.4).

0-8, 11-8: New Orleans record in clutch games through Thanksgiving, then its record in clutch games since then. The Pelicans haven’t played in many tight contests lately, but Sunday’s 117-112 victory at Atlanta was another example of how much better they’ve performed in pressure situations compared to early in the season. New Orleans was able to hold on for the victory over the Hawks despite not having two of its most productive clutch-time scorers (Devonte’ Graham leads the club this season with 51 total points, while Brandon Ingram is fourth with 40). Jones has moved into second on New Orleans with 44 points in clutch situations; Jonas Valanciunas is third at 43. Thirty-three of Jones’ clutch points have occurred since Dec. 1.

3, 29: New Orleans rank among the 30 NBA teams in rebounding percentage (51.7), then Charlotte’s rank in that stat (48.4, ahead of only Detroit). Among all categories, rebounding is the area the Pelicans hold the greatest season-long advantage over the Hornets, but they didn’t capitalize on that much during the teams’ March 11 meeting, a 22-point triumph for Charlotte. New Orleans barely edged Charlotte 40-38 in rebounds (there weren’t many boards available, with the visitors shooting 60 percent from the field and the hosts connecting at a 50 percent rate). Among individuals, Valanciunas ranks sixth in the NBA at 11.4 rebounds per game. Willy Hernangomez ranks second in the NBA in offensive rebounds per 36 minutes (minimum 500 minutes played) at 6.2 a night, trailing only Memphis center Steven Adams (6.3).

CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Naji Marshall, Jaxson Hayes, Jonas Valanciunas

Notes: This group is 1-0. It was the 21st different starting lineup New Orleans has used this season. By comparison, the Pelicans used 15 lineups in 2020-21 during a 72-game schedule. … If the season ended today, New Orleans would host the No. 10-seeded Lakers in the opening round of the West play-in tournament. The other play-in matchup would be seventh-seeded Denver hosting the eighth-ranked Clippers. … New Orleans is 10-18 against the East, with only two games remaining (Monday at Charlotte, Thursday vs. Chicago).

LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges, PJ Washington, Mason Plumlee

Notes: This group is 7-7, going 7-6 over Charlotte’s last 13 games (it debuted Feb. 2 in a loss at Boston). Charlotte has only used 13 different starting lineups this season, compared to 23 in 2020-21. … Gordon Hayward has started 48 games for the Hornets this season, but has not played since Feb. 7 due to an ankle injury. … If the season ended today, Charlotte would host No. 10-seeded Atlanta in the opening round of the East play-in tournament. The other play-in matchup would be seventh-seeded Toronto hosting eight-ranked Brooklyn. … Charlotte is 14-13 against the West.

Both teams love to push the pace and pile up fast-break points, with Charlotte second in the league in that category this season, averaging 15.8 points per game (Memphis is No. 1 at 17.7). New Orleans is seventh at 13.9 points per game. Since the All-Star break, the Pelicans have shifted into a higher gear, fourth in the NBA at 17.0 fast-break points a night.

No matter how the Pelicans fare in various categories Monday, they won’t have a chance to beat the Hornets unless they play much tighter defense than they did in the first meeting. Charlotte scored 142 points on March 11, the most New Orleans has allowed this season. The Hornets’ 22 three-pointers were one shy of an opponent high as well (Milwaukee made 23 treys vs. NOLA on New Year’s Day).

At guard, McCollum and Rozier are dangerous veteran shooters and scorers, capable of carrying their teams for long stretches offensively. That’s exactly what Rozier did in Charlotte’s March 11 victory at New Orleans, connecting for 25 points on 7/13 three-point shooting. The Pelicans did not have McCollum that night due to the nine-year pro being in the league’s health and safety protocols.

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Behind the Numbers: Pelicans at Hornets (3/21/22)

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