A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game in State Farm Arena between New Orleans and Atlanta (5 p.m. Central, Bally Sports, WRNO 99.5 FM):
3: Active winning streaks for New Orleans and Atlanta entering Sunday’s interconference matchup in Georgia. Surprisingly, those are the longest in each conference right now, a sign of how unpredictable the league has been in March, as well as how much parity currently exists between the 30 teams. Over that tiny sample of the last three games, the Pelicans (98.0 points allowed per 100 possessions, via NBA.com) and Hawks (104.6 defensive rating) boast the NBA’s two best defenses. New Orleans is also top-ranked in offensive efficiency (124.1), three-pointers per game (16.7), rebounds per game (52.3) and scoring margin (+76, with Atlanta a relatively distant second at +34).
6, 8, 9: Rank among all bench players this season in total plus-minus for New Orleans second-unit catalysts Trey Murphy, Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall, respectively. Two of the five subs ranked ahead of Murphy play for league-leading Boston (Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard). In perhaps the best indication of how game-changing Pelicans reserves have been throughout 2023-24, they’ve outscored opponents by 198, 188 and 167 points with Murphy, Alvarado and Marshall on the floor, respectively, doing so with all of those players logging under 1,000 minutes so far (Marshall should clear that mark soon, now at 933).
6, 17.8: Wondering what fifth-place New Orleans’ biggest advantage may be over the five closest Western Conference teams currently trailing the Pelicans in the standings (spots 6 through 10)? Look to the defensive end of the court. While New Orleans (38-25) has the NBA’s sixth-ranked defense (111.7 rating), among Sacramento (36-26), Phoenix (37-27), Dallas (36-28), the Lakers (35-30) and Golden State (33-30), none of those squads place higher than 12th (Suns) on defense. If you combine the defensive efficiency rankings of those handful of West pursuers and average it, it equals 17.8. The Lakers, Warriors, Kings and Mavericks all sit between 17th and 22nd on defense.
Previous Game Starting Lineups
NEW ORLEANS (38-25, 5TH IN WEST)
Friday win at Philadelphia
CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: Dyson Daniels (knee) is out on the team’s injury report. All other Pelicans listed as out are on G League duty. … This starting lineup is 22-13 this season, one of 15 different combinations used by Willie Green this season. … New Orleans has opened a 1.5-game lead on Sacramento and Phoenix. The Kings host Houston at the same time Sunday as Pelicans-Hawks. The Suns are idle until a Monday game at Cleveland launches a Phoenix four-game road trip.
ATLANTA (29-34, 10TH IN EAST)
Friday win at Memphis
Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey, Vit Krejci, Clint Capela
Notes: First-string Hawks players Trae Young (finger) and Jalen Johnson (ankle) are out, as is productive backup big Onyeka Okongwu (toe) and rookie Kobe Bufkin (toe). Murray (calf) is probable. … This starting group is 1-0, as Krejci made only the ninth start of his NBA career. Quin Snyder has used 16 different starting lineups this season (Atlanta used 23 last season).
FanDuel Keys to the Game
STAY HOT
New Orleans has made its fans feel much better during this road trip while at the foul line, sinking a scorching 31 of 34 attempts on free throws (91 percent) against Toronto and Philadelphia, but that’s only one element to a surging offensive attack. The Pelicans are also No. 1 in the NBA in three-point percentage over their last five games (45.1). Murphy leads the league in that span by draining 26 three-pointers (out of 52 attempts).
DEFENSIVE BOARDS
An area of concern is Atlanta’s offensive rebounding (first in NBA at 13.0 per game). New Orleans is No. 15 in defensive rebounding percentage (71.8) and ninth in total rebounding percentage (50.8). During their Nov. 4 head-to-head victory, the Hawks grabbed 19 offensive boards, tied for the second-most the Pelicans have allowed in a game this season (Golden State seized 21 on Oct. 30 in the Blender).
MATCHUP TO WATCH
These are two above-average benches, with New Orleans ranking second in bench plus-minus (see above), while Atlanta’s reserves are 13th. After recent injuries to Young and Johnson, the Hawks moved Bogdanovic and Krejci into the starting lineup, the latter seemingly in an attempt to maintain some second-unit continuity (two-way contract player Krejci jumped from out of the rotation to a starter Friday, allowing Snyder to keep a similar bench mix).