A look at three key numbers related to Saturday’s game at the Smoothie King Center between Charlotte and New Orleans (6 p.m., Fox Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM):
15.6, 6.7: Jrue Holiday’s scoring and assist average, respectively, during his four-season career with New Orleans. The point guard exceeded both of those figures in his season debut Friday vs. Portland, accounting for 21 points and seven assists. Holiday accomplished that stat line despite logging only 23 minutes, in his first NBA game since March. He also helped hold Portland’s talented backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to inefficient shooting games. The task doesn’t get easier Saturday, when Holiday will match up at times with Charlotte’s likely first-time All-Star, Kemba Walker.
18.7, 8.7, 2.3: Scoring, rebounding and blocks average, respectively, for Pelicans forward Terrence Jones over three games this week, which include wins over Boston and Portland. For good measure, the former Houston Rocket has and one-year college teammate at Kentucky of Anthony Davis has been efficient offensively, making 22 of his 42 shots from the field (52.4 percent). New Orleans is 3-1 in games when Jones played 29-plus minutes, accounting for all of its victories.
4: Charlotte’s league ranking in defensive efficiency, behind only Atlanta, the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami. Under Steve Clifford, the Hornets have been a stingy team at the defensive end, one reason why they are off to a franchise-best 8-3 start and pursuing the Hawks (9-3) for the top mark in the Southwest Division. The Pelicans have been much improved defensively early in 2016-17, currently placing 14th in efficiency, allowing 104.1 points per 100 possessions, via NBA.com.