Over the past two offseasons, the New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers have been the biggest beneficiaries of the NBA draft lottery process. Cleveland won the rights to the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2011, which resulted in the selection of point guard Kyrie Irving. New Orleans hit the lottery jackpot in 2012 and chose power forward Anthony Davis.
Sunday’s holiday game in New Orleans was supposed to be Round 2 this season between the past two NBA draft headliners, but Irving is not expected to play in the Easter contest. After suffering a shoulder injury on March 10, Irving could potentially miss the remainder of the season, though the Cavaliers are hopeful that he can return at least for some games.
Irving was undoubtedly the biggest difference-maker on Feb. 20, when these interconference foes met for the only time previously in 2012-13. In a game that was televised nationally by ESPN, the Duke University product racked up 35 points on 13-for-22 shooting. New Orleans entered the fourth quarter with a 69-68 lead, but Irving took over the fourth quarter of a 105-100 victory. Davis, who has often been outstanding since the February All-Star break, experienced a relatively quiet game in Ohio, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds in 29 minutes.
The Easter game marks the final time New Orleans will face an Eastern Conference opponent this season. In yet another example of the disparity in competitiveness between the conferences, the Hornets were 11-17 against the East entering the weekend (compared to 14-29 vs. fellow West clubs through March 25). The Cavaliers’ record provides an even more jarring example. Cleveland is only 6-23 against the superior West, but was a respectable 16-24 while facing the East.
Intriguing matchup: Power forward, Anthony Davis vs. Tristan Thompson
Like Davis and Irving, Thompson was recently chosen in the lottery portion of the draft. The fourth overall selection by Cleveland in 2011, Thompson is a 6-foot-9 jumping jack who thrives around the basket. A native of Canada, the 21-year-old is a nightly double-double threat, averaging 11.5 points and 9.3 rebounds. Davis has also become a frequent 10-and-10 guy, blossoming into a force in recent weeks. The 20-year-old averaged 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds in the first 11 games of March.
