A look at three key numbers related to Saturday’s game in FedEx Forum between New Orleans and Memphis (7 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM):
39.2: CJ McCollum’s season three-point percentage, after he went 11/16 from distance Friday vs. Philadelphia, a franchise record for makes in a game. McCollum noted during his postgame TV interview with Jen Hale that at one stage early in 2022-23, he was only shooting 28 percent from beyond the arc, but the 10-year NBA veteran recently vowed to his agent that “I’ll be at 40 (percent) by next week.” He’s almost there, in the midst of a stretch in which he’s made at least three three-pointers in eight consecutive games, going 40/76 from deep during that span (53 percent). McCollum now has 17 games this season of sinking at least three three-pointers, but only four of those occurred in his first 13 appearances; he’s done it 13 times over his last 18 outings. Incidentally, his 14th game was vs. Memphis on Nov. 15, when he shot 7/13 on treys en route to a 30-point performance and a 113-102 victory for New Orleans.
6-1, 3-2: Southwest Division records for New Orleans and Memphis, respectively. At a time when the NBA has significantly reduced the importance of divisions, why is that relevant? Because there’s a chance it will serve as the tiebreaker between the Pelicans and Grizzlies. After splitting a pair of November games, if the Southwest rivals go on to split their remaining two matchups (Saturday and April 5), division record will be the tiebreaker. Right now, the only Southwest defeat either team has sustained that was not against the other occurred back on Oct. 22, when Memphis lost by 41 points at Dallas. The Pelicans are 3-0 vs. San Antonio, as well as 1-0 against both Houston and Dallas (the Rockets and Mavericks are on NOLA’s schedule next week Wednesday and Saturday, respectively). Of course, Saturday’s winner between New Orleans and Memphis will possess the temporary tiebreaking advantage for at least 95 days, until the aforementioned April 5 season-series finale in the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans’ only division title in team history was in 2007-08.
3, 25: Rank this season among the 30 NBA teams in aggregate plus-minus for the benches of New Orleans and Memphis, respectively. That represents a radical turnaround from last season, when the Grizzlies’ second unit was outstanding (sixth in the league at plus-116), while the Pelicans often struggled (22nd at minus-66). In 2022-23, Pelicans reserves have been game-changers in a positive way, racking up a differential of plus-59, trailing only the benches of Cleveland (+97) and Phoenix (+73). Meanwhile, the Grizzlies’ subs are just outside of the bottom five, with a minus-47 differential. New Orleans also ranks first in bench steals (134, with 33 from Jose Alvarado and 28 by Larry Nance Jr.; those players are third and sixth in total thefts among all NBA reserves). Bench performance has been critical this season across the NBA – among the top 12 clubs in reserve plus-minus, 10 boast .500 or better records.
Previous Game Starting Lineups
NEW ORLEANS (23-12)
Friday win vs. Philadelphia
CJ McCollum, Naji Marshall, Trey Murphy, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: This group is 3-1, one of six different New Orleans combinations that have a winning record in two or more games together. The team’s planned starting five entering this season is 6-4, but has not been available since Nov. 25 at Memphis, when Brandon Ingram sustained a bruised toe injury. … Herb Jones was available to play Friday against the 76ers, but was only going to be used in an emergency situation, such as ejections/foul outs greatly reducing how many players Willie Green had at his disposal in the second half. … Per league rule, New Orleans is required to submit its Saturday official injury report by 1 p.m. local time (applies to all second games of a back-to-back).
MEMPHIS (21-13)
Thursday win at Toronto
Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr., Steven Adams
Notes: This group is 2-2, with its limited usage being directly tied to extended injury DNPs by Jackson and Bane, who’ve only played 18 and 16 games, respectively. Memphis is 11-7 when Jackson plays, 11-5 when Bane plays. … Among Grizzlies players who’ve averaged at least 15 minutes per game this season, big man Santi Aldama (ankle) is listed as questionable on the team’s injury report. Rookie wing Jake LaRavia (G League assignment) is out. … Memphis is in third place in the West, 1.5 games behind New Orleans and Denver (both 23-12), while 1.5 games ahead of the fourth-place LA Clippers (21-16).
FanDuel Keys to the Game (New Year’s resolutions theme)
DON’T PROCRASTINATE
New Orleans didn’t wait around Friday, thriving on offense by pushing the ball and getting baskets in transition vs. Philadelphia (30 fast-break points). NOLA needs to carry over that success to Saturday in Memphis. In the Pelicans’ most recent visit to FedEx Forum on Nov. 25, they only mustered 11 fast-break points and were routed by the Grizzlies, who bottled up Williamson effectively.
SAVE MORE (POSSESSIONS)
Memphis always seems to be at the top of the NBA in fast-break offense and this season is no different. New Orleans must take care of the ball by not turning it over and igniting Morant and the Grizzlies’ open-floor attack (third in transition points, behind only Indiana and Toronto).
TAKE MORE FUN FAMILY TRIPS
New Orleans has been dominant at home lately, going 14-2 since mid-November, but like most NBA teams, not nearly as effective on the road (7-8 this season). FedEx Forum has been a very inhospitable place recently for the Pelicans, who are 0-4 there since May 2021. The last three excursions have resulted in Memphis wins by margins of 21, 27 and 21 points.