Dating back to midway through the 2012-13 season, the Dallas Mavericks have won seven consecutive games against New Orleans, including a 4-0 sweep last season. That’s a trend the Pelicans would love to change dramatically, beginning with Saturday’s game in the Smoothie King Center.
“Dallas had their way with us last year,” Pelicans Coach Monty Williams said prior to Saturday’s tip-off. “At some point, you’ve got to say enough. Tonight’s a good night to say it.”
Other than New Orleans’ rampant injuries, particularly in 2013-14, Williams chalked up the recent Dallas success to the fact that the Mavericks have been a quality team. Dallas has finished at least .500 every season since 2000-01.
“They’re good. There is no other way to slice it,” Williams said. “I could throw out a bunch of numbers, but it is what it is. We could talk about injuries or our (short-handed) lineups, but they beat us.”
Other notes from pregame:
- Williams on the rebounding of former New Orleans forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who signed with Dallas this summer as a free agent: “You’ve got to respect him. The one thing he’s done well since I’ve known him – he did it in college – is rebound the ball. Al-Farouq has a knack for getting offensive rebounds. It doesn’t surprise me that Dallas picked him up – he had his best rebounding games against them, 19 and 20. You really have to recognize where he is when that shot goes up. He’s athletic and long, and can get his hands on balls.”
- One early trend in the first week of the season is that officials have been closely watching contact while players are taking jump shots. They’ve been diligent about whistling those as fouls. Williams indicated that he has emphasized to his guards the importance of avoiding making contact with shooters. “ You’ve got to contest without fouling,” he said. “That’s one thing we’ve really worked on with our young guards, (because) referees are really looking for that.”
- Williams on New Orleans’ defensive focus vs. Dallas, the NBA’s No. 1-rated offense in the early going: “It’s easy to say keep them out of your paint, but you don’t want to give up (open) threes. They shoot a high number of threes, 25-plus (per game). But we can score. We can score and set our defense, and that’s makes us better (defensively).”