A look at three key numbers related to Monday’s game at FedEx Forum between New Orleans and Memphis (7 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM):
5-0: New Orleans record vs. Memphis since the start of the 2019-20 regular season. Zion Williamson has played in four of those matchups, but the Pelicans also defeated the Grizzlies on Jan. 20, 2020, without Williamson. They’ll need to do so again Monday, trying to improve upon a 2-5 record when the first-time NBA All-Star does not play this season. Three-point shooting has been an area where New Orleans has performed drastically better against Memphis than vs. virtually every other opponent, going 34/71 from beyond the arc in two victories, winning by margins of nine and 31 points. The Pelicans also have averaged 30.0 assists against the Grizzlies; on the defensive end, they’ve put up helpful averages of 8.5 steals and 6.5 blocks.
18.5: Jaxson Hayes scoring average in the last two games, a 19-point outing at Philadelphia on Friday, followed by Sunday’s 18 points in Charlotte. Prior to the weekend, the second-year center’s season high in scoring was 17, but he managed to top that in two consecutive games. In addition, the eight rebounds he grabbed against the 76ers and Hornets are tied for the third-most he’s registered in a game all season. For good measure, he swatted six shots at Charlotte, a new career high. His previous top tally in 2020-21 was three blocks (which he’s done twice, including Friday at Philadelphia). Hayes’ weekend spike in production came with only a slight increase in minutes. He still has not played more than 29 minutes in any game of his sophomore pro campaign.
106.8: It’s the ultimate in small sample size, but that’s New Orleans’ stellar defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions, via NBA.com) over the past two games, with a very shorthanded rotation. The Pelicans have been trending in the right direction for weeks defensively, which has come in handy while trying to remain highly competitive despite being without Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the team’s top two scorers. Philadelphia and Charlotte both had big first halves against reconfigured New Orleans, but the Pelicans were able to buckle down in a big way after intermission. Philadelphia scored 70 first-half points but only managed 39 after that, while Charlotte went for 67 and 43 points in Sunday’s two halves, respectively. Since Friday, NOLA ranks No. 21 in offense but ninth in defense.
PREVIOUS GAME STARTING LINEUPS
NEW ORLEANS (31-37, 11TH IN WEST)
Sunday win at Charlotte
Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, Naji Marshall, James Johnson, Willy Hernangomez
Notes: This group is 1-1, having lost by two points at Philadelphia on Friday, then winning by two in Charlotte. … New Orleans is 1.5 games behind No. 10 San Antonio (32-35), with a chance to cut into that Monday. The Spurs have a difficult Monday home game against Milwaukee (43-24), which is third in the East. … The Pelicans are 3.5 games behind Memphis and four games back of Golden State. New Orleans cannot surpass Golden State in the standings unless it goes 4-0 and the Warriors go 0-4. The teams face each other Friday in San Francisco at 8:30 p.m. Central.
MEMPHIS (34-33, 9TH IN WEST)
Saturday win at Toronto
Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: This group is 1-0. Jackson made his first start of the season against the Raptors. … Despite several extended injury absences, along with health and safety protocol issues, Memphis has only used 13 different starting lineups this season, one fewer than New Orleans. … Sixth and seventh place in the West are virtually unattainable for Memphis based on the math, but the Grizzlies are only a half-game behind Golden State for the No. 8 seed. Memphis visits Golden State on the final day of the regular season.
PELICANS KEYS TO VICTORY PRESENTED BY FANDUEL
ALL HANDS ON DECK
How was New Orleans going to survive offensively without Williamson and Ingram? That was one of the biggest questions entering the weekend, but the Pelicans have received double-digit scoring averages from six different players. Bledsoe leads the way at 21.0 ppg, followed by Hayes (18.5) and Ball (15.0).
LOW TURNOVERS
Memphis is a very opportunistic team, ranked second in the NBA in points off turnovers (18.6 per game). New Orleans has mostly been able to keep Morant from generating easy baskets in five matchups, while holding him to just 18 attempts from the foul line.
GET HOT VS. GRIZZLIES
New Orleans has been a below average three-point shooting team much of this season, but don’t tell Memphis that. The Pelicans have shot 48 percent on treys vs. the Grizzlies this season. Ball and Bledsoe are a combined 11/26 against Memphis from distance.