As much as an NBA player may try to maintain tunnel vision and focus only on what he can control, the reality is there are an array of reasons why that’s not always possible. As New Orleans forward Gary Clark pointed out following Monday’s shootaround, the Pelicans want to devote their attention and energy on taking care of their own business over the final 26 games of 2021-22, but with less than two months left in the regular season, it’s unavoidable to be cognizant of where the team sits in the Western Conference standings. At the moment, that’s smack in the middle of a multi-club race for the West’s No. 10 seed and final play-in spot.
“I mean, you see it of course,” Clark said. “You hear family, friends, and (you see) social media posts about it. But as a unit, I think we just focus on day-to-day. It would be crazy to say we don’t pay attention to it, (because) the reality is we see it. But (it) is so important to win what games are in front of us, that (paying attention to other teams) is a bit of a blur, because we’re focused on getting a win right now.”
New Orleans (22-34) took over the No. 10 seed for a few days last week, but dropped back to 11th on Saturday when it lost to San Antonio, combined with Portland rallying from a huge deficit to beat New York. The Pelicans could move back into the top 10 Monday, but need to beat Toronto (7 p.m., Bally Sports New Orleans, 100.3 FM) and have Portland lose at defending NBA champion Milwaukee (also 7 p.m.).
Other notes from shootaround:
Clark and point guard Devonte’ Graham both mentioned defensive rebounding as an area of focus for New Orleans tonight vs. Toronto. The Raptors rank second in the NBA in offensive boards per game (13.1, behind only Memphis at 13.8) and use a rangy, athletic starting lineup that crashes the glass. Scottie Barnes, Khem Birch, Precious Achiuwa, Pascal Siakam and Chris Boucher have all averaged two-plus offensive rebounds this season.
“The biggest thing is try to take away what (the Raptors) do well, which is they turn you over, and they offensive rebound,” Clark said. “So if we can take care of the ball, and keep them off the offensive glass, we give ourselves a chance.”
Graham: “They play big lineups, so they rebound at an extremely high rate.”
TORONTO SCOUTING REPORT
Offensive efficiency rank: 8 (112.0)
Defensive efficiency rank: 13 (109.8)
Net rating: 11 (+2.2)
Pace: 26 (96.52)
Streak: Lost 1
Go-to guy: Siakam and Fred VanVleet have produced nearly identical scoring numbers this season, with Siakam averaging 22.1 points and VanVleet 21.6. Siakam has been rolling lately, putting up 25-plus points in six consecutive games, including 30 at Houston and 35 vs. Denver in the Raptors’ last two games. VanVleet has scored 20-plus points in his last six appearances and burned New Orleans with 32 points and a series of clutch buckets during Toronto’s narrow Jan. 9 home win.
On the rise: Gary Trent Jr. is a dangerous perimeter shooter who recently compiled the best stretch of his NBA career. A trade acquisition a year ago from Portland, Trent notched at least 30 points and five three-pointers made in five straight games from Jan. 25-Feb. 1. The son of a former NBA player, Trent followed that up with 42 points on 15/26 shooting in a win at Houston on Thursday.
PREVIOUS GAME STARTING LINEUPS
TORONTO (31-24, 7TH IN EAST)
Saturday loss vs. Denver
Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam
Notes: This group is 12-5 and a big reason Toronto has exceeded all outside expectations this season, as well as thrust itself into contention for a top-six seed. The Raptors are 8-2 in their last 10 games, but have actually lost ground on sixth-place Boston (33-25), which is 9-1 in its last 10. Toronto is only 2.5 games behind fifth-place Philadelphia (34-22). … Toronto has used 19 different starting lineups this season.
NEW ORLEANS (22-34, 11TH IN WEST)
Saturday loss vs. San Antonio
Devonte’ Graham, CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: This group is 0-2. New Orleans has trailed after the first quarter in each of the two games. … The Pelicans are a half-game behind No. 10 Portland (23-34), but a half-game ahead of No. 12 San Antonio (22-35). … New Orleans has been significantly better against the West (14-18) than the East (8-16) this season. After Monday, the Pelicans don’t play another interconference game until March 9 vs. Orlando. … New Orleans has used 16 different starting lineups this season.
FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
DISRUPTIVE DEFENSE
It might take more time for New Orleans to adjust to its new lineup on the offensive end, but the Pelicans need to be more aggressive defensively than they were Saturday. New Orleans did not make its presence felt while San Antonio scored 124 points and only committed five turnovers. The Pelicans have compiled several high-steals games lately but only had two thefts vs. the Spurs.
CONTAIN SHOOTERS
Toronto’s backcourt features two of the most dangerous perimeter shooters in the league, with VanVleet averaging 4.0 made threes per game (second in NBA, behind only Stephen Curry at 4.7), while Trent averages 3.2 (seventh in NBA). VanVleet was 8/17 from downtown against New Orleans on Jan. 9. Trent did not play due to injury.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
They may not be matched up directly with each other Monday, but Barnes and Jones are two of the NBA’s premier rookies. Barnes is second on last week’s NBA.com Rookie Ladder, while Jones was placed sixth. They’ll be back in the same arena Friday in Cleveland, when the Rising Stars competition tips off, with Barnes on Team Payton and Jones suiting up for Team Worthy.