A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game at State Farm Arena between New Orleans and Atlanta (5 p.m. Central, Fox Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM):
68.3, 79: Field-goal percentage and total rebounds for third-year reserve big Cheick Diallo since the All-Star break, both team highs. In his nine games played since Feb. 21, the native of Mali has connected on 43 of his 63 shot attempts, which is the second-best rate in the NBA during the unofficial second half of the campaign (minimum 60 shots taken), trailing only Lakers center JaVale McGee (43 of 62). Diallo is averaging 8.8 boards per game over the same stretch, a full rebound more than any teammate’s output. Since Feb. 1, Diallo has scored 152 points and secured 121 rebounds, which are both higher than his totals from October through January (128 points and 115 rebounds). It helps that the 22-year-old has seen nearly a doubling of his playing time, going from averaging 11.2 minutes before the All-Star break to 18.9 after the midseason hiatus.
28: New Orleans rank in three-point percentage since Feb. 1, a rate of just 32.7, which is ahead of only the Lakers (31.8) and Phoenix (30.9) during that timeframe. Recent free-agent signee Dairis Bertans could help lift the Pelicans out of a shooting slump from beyond the arc, having approached 50 percent in that category during the 2018-19 season overseas. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the NBA as a whole is shooting 35.4 percent from three-point range during the 2018-19 season, but the only Pelicans players over that rate since Feb. 1 are E’Twaun Moore (16 of 32, 50.0 percent, but currently sidelined with a quad injury) and Julius Randle (21 of 58, 36.2 percent). Four New Orleans players have fired at least 50 treys since Feb. 1 but made roughly one-third or less of those tries, a group that includes Darius Miller (33.7 percent), Kenrich Williams (33.3), Jrue Holiday (30.6 percent) and Frank Jackson (25.9). It’s a big reason the Pelicans’ offensive efficiency has dipped from fifth in the NBA through Jan. 31 (112.9 points per 100 possessions, via NBA.com) to 26th since Feb. 1 (107.3 rating). As a team, the Pelicans were No. 13 in three-point accuracy through the end of January (35.3 percent).
9: Rank in scoring average among all NBA players since the All-Star break for Atlanta guard Trae Young, who is putting up 27.9 points in nine games. The rookie from Oklahoma is the only first-year pro listed anywhere in the top 15 of that group (Dallas guard Luka Doncic is tied for 20th with Sacramento’s Buddy Hield, at 24.5 ppg since the midseason hiatus). Young has dramatically improved his efficiency across the board in recent weeks, highlighted by his three-point percentage jumping from 31.2 all the way to 43.9. Young has also increased his field-goal accuracy from 40.6 percent to 43.9 and his foul shooting from 79.8 to 88.6. Only a 20-year-old, the No. 5 overall pick of last year’s draft piled up a career-high 49 points March 1 in a quadruple-overtime defeat to Chicago. He’s had three other games of 30-plus points since the All-Star break.