New Orleans players and coaches often say that they try to treat every game equally, with none more important than any other during the 82-game schedule. With that said, Tuesday's Western Conference matchup between the Pelicans and Phoenix Suns carries a bit more meaning than many games, due to a heated early race for playoff positioning.
Through two months of the 2014-15 regular season, New Orleans and Phoenix are two of the clubs vying for the eighth spot in the West standings. Although it's perhaps a bit early to look this far ahead, one of the tiebreakers between teams at season's end is head-to-head record; Tuesday's contest marks the first of three meetings between the Pelicans and Suns. It's a chance for both teams to grab a 1-0 lead in a season series that will remain dormant until the final month of the regular season. New Orleans visits Phoenix on March 19, followed by the Suns returning to the Crescent City on April 10.
The Suns were the NBA's biggest surprise success story of last season, posting an impressive 48 wins, which still kept them one game out of eighth in the ultra-competitive West. This season has not gone as smoothly for Phoenix, but it showed signs of a turnaround by going 3-0 on a recent Eastern Conference road trip that stopped in Charlotte, New York and Washington. Phoenix may have the deepest collection of backcourt talent in the NBA, including starters Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, as well as sixth man catalyst Isaiah Thomas. The Suns have so much depth at the position, in fact, that rookie first-round draft pick Tyler Ennis, another guard, has rarely played.
New Orleans would love to emerge as this season's version of the '13-14 Suns. To do so, the Pelicans must continue excelling at home, where they recently beat an array of tough opponents.
Intriguing matchup: Point guard, Jrue Holiday vs. Goran Dragic
It's a meeting of a 2013 All-Star (Holiday) and a player many argued should've been picked as an All-Star in '14 (Dragic). Instead, the final West roster spot went to Anthony Davis. Holiday and Dragic are two of the NBA's quickest players with the ball.