Key: Bourbon Street Beginning
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On Friday night in New Orleans, one team comes in feeling pretty good – having won four of five before the Break. The other, feeling pretty angry – coming off a 30-point home thrashing by a seven-win squad in their first game back.
The Cavaliers nearly made it five-for-five before the Break, but Indiana rolled in and spoiled the streak – with T.J. McConnell nearly breaking the NBA record, swiping 10 steals as the Wine & Gold squandered a double-digit lead to the Pacers. Still, Cleveland went into the midway point on the heels of a four-game win streak – bouncing back from a 10-game skid.
The 15-22 Pelicans have been up and down all season – and last night at the Smoothie King Center can definitely be considered a “down” – a 135-105 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota, which came in with the league’s worst mark. The loss was New Orleans’ third straight and fifth in their last six outings spanning the Break.
The Cavs didn’t face Stan Van Gundy’s squad in the first half, but have dropped their last four to the Pelicans overall, including nine consecutive in the Big Easy.
Key: Shouldering the Load
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Now in his second year after being the No. 1 overall pick out of Duke, Zion Williamson is showing why he was seen as a generational talent.
Fresh off his first career All-Star nod, the unconventional big man leads the Pelicans in scoring at 25.5ppg and at .615, ranks 5th in the NBA in field goal percentage. (A category Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen leads at .669.)
Williamson hasn’t had any monster games this season, but he’s been good almost every night – netting double-figures in all 35 appearances, including 20 20-point games and nine 30-point outings, with nine double-doubles in the mix.
In two games against Cleveland as a rookie, Zion averaged 19.0 points and 6.0 boards on 62 percent shooting.
There’s a good chance the Cavaliers could get Larry Nance Jr. back tonight after missing the previous 12 games with a hand injury.
The sixth-year man from Wyoming has had a frustrating campaign dealing with injuries. He’s posted 10 games of double-figure scoring, with a pair of double-doubles in the mix. But the team knows that many of his contributions can’t be measured in the stat sheet.
Either way, expect to see a lot of Dean Wade – who capitalized on his opportunity heading into the Break – starting five straight games, winning four, scoring in double-figures in two games and grabbing double-digit boards in another.
At .423 (22-of-52), Wade is the team’s second-best three-point shooter behind, of course, Jarrett Allen (4-of-8).
Key: Bull Bounce-Back
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On February 10 in Denver, Collin Sexton had easily his worst game of the season – a four-point outing on 1-for-9 shooting. That just made the Young Bull see red.
In the 10 games since, the third-year man from Alabama has tallied at least 20-point in each, averaging 27.1 points per on 49 percent shooting from the floor, including 37 percent from deep and 80 percent from the stripe.
And Sexton was even hotter heading into the Break – averaging 33.0 points per over the final three outings, upping his shooting averages over that stretch to 49, 39 and 81 percent, respectively.
In the final game before the midway point against Indy, Sexton notched his second straight 30-point game, handed out a season-high 10 assists (all before halftime) and added three steals.
On Friday night, he’ll see plenty of Lonzo Ball, whose offensive numbers have also been steadily improving.
In his fourth year out of UCLA, Ball’s shooting has improved across the board and he brings a 19-game double-figure scoring streak into Friday’s contest. But like the rest of his squad, Ball struggled against Minnesota on Thursday, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
In six career contests against the Wine & Gold, Ball has scored in double-figures on three occasions and handed out double-figure assists in two more.