CJ McCollum spent the first two seasons of his NBA career coming off the bench in 97 of his 100 games, so he understands first-hand how difficult it can be to contribute when your minutes aren’t necessarily guaranteed or consistent. The nine-year veteran shooting guard also recognizes how important reserves are to a team’s success.
“Having played in every position, from DNPs to starter, I have an appreciation for every role,” McCollum said after Friday’s 117-102 victory at Phoenix.
After having time during the All-Star break to look back at the first half of the season and examine his revamped roster, Pelicans head coach Willie Green made a few changes to his rotation against the Suns. The initial results were splendid, something New Orleans (24-36) needs to carry over into Sunday’s visit to the Lakers (27-32) on national television (9 p.m., ESPN, 100.3 FM).
The first sub off the bench in Footprint Center, wing and recent trade pickup Tony Snell shot 3/5 on three-pointers, upping his four-game tally since joining the Pelicans to 9/18 on deep balls, his specialty. Naji Marshall’s aggressive defense netted a season-high four steals, while Devonte’ Graham dropped in 11 points, his second straight double-digit scoring game (the first time for Graham since Jan. 29-31). Point guard Jose Alvarado didn’t crack the scoring column, but still managed to notch a plus-15 in plus-minus. Snell and Graham were plus-14 and plus-6, respectively.
“Our bench, everybody played hard,” McCollum said. “There were a lot of (positive) plus-minuses.”
For the season, New Orleans ranks just 24th in the NBA in aggregate bench plus-minus (minus-1.6, via NBA.com), but that number has turned around significantly in February. The Pelicans are fifth in bench plus-minus this month at plus-3.0. The Lakers are also a top-10 bench in February, ranked eighth at plus-1.8.
Other notes Sunday:
The immediate focus for New Orleans should be to try to catch Portland (25-35) for the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference, but for the Pelicans to have a decent shot to move up further than that, they probably need to at least win a three-game season series vs. the Lakers. The teams play all three times between now and April 1, with Los Angeles currently 3.5 games in front of New Orleans. …
The Pelicans get the Lakers’ 2022 first-round draft pick only if it lands in the top 10 of the lottery. The most likely mathematical path for that to occur is for Los Angeles to miss the playoffs and end up with one of the NBA’s 10 worst records. Right now the Lakers have the league’s 12th-worst record. To drop into the bottom 10, they’d need to be passed in the standings by at least two more teams. Washington, New York, Portland, New Orleans and San Antonio are all within four games or less of the Lakers entering Sunday.
LA LAKERS SCOUTING REPORT
Offensive efficiency rank: 24 (108.7)
Defensive efficiency rank: 14 (110.1)
Net rating: 20 (-1.4)
Pace: 5 (100.30)
Streak: Lost 1
Go-to guy: LeBron James, who is listed as questionable to play Sunday due to knee soreness, is averaging 28.9 points this season, his highest scoring average since he put up 29.7 for Cleveland in his seventh NBA campaign, back in 2009-10. The 18-time All-Star has needed to shoulder a significant offensive load (also 6.4 assists per game) as Los Angeles deals with various injury absences, including to former Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who’s played in 73 games over the past two regular seasons. James has scored 30-plus points in four of his last eight appearances.
On the rise: Malik Monk has provided much-needed offensive punch for Los Angeles in his first season with the franchise. Previously a member of the Charlotte Hornets who was not always in their rotation, Monk has already logged the most minutes of his NBA career (1,432) and made 19 starts. He started once in 233 games with Charlotte. In February, the Kentucky product is averaging 14.5 points, highlighted by a 29-point outing vs. New York, sparking a comeback victory.
PREVIOUS GAME STARTING LINEUPS
NEW ORLEANS (24-36, 11TH IN WEST)
Friday win at Phoenix
CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Brandon Ingram, Jaxson Hayes, Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: This group is 1-1. … New Orleans enters Sunday one game behind Portland (25-35) for the final play-in tournament spot in the West. The Trail Blazers host Denver at 8 p.m. Sunday. New Orleans owns at least a temporary tiebreaking advantage over Portland based on a Dec. 21 home victory. The clubs have two more head-to-head meetings, March 30 and April 7. … San Antonio’s loss Saturday at Miami dropped the Spurs to 12th place.
LA LAKERS (27-32, 9TH IN WEST)
Friday loss vs. LA Clippers
Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves, Trevor Ariza, LeBron James, Dwight Howard
Notes: This group is 0-1. Friday marked the first NBA start for rookie Reaves. … Friday was a key outcome in the race between Los Angeles franchises, because the eighth-place Clippers (31-31) now hold a lead of 2.5 games on the Lakers and have clinched the season series, up 3-0 with one tilt remaining. … The Lakers are 2.5 games ahead of No. 10 Portland. If the season ended today, those squads would meet in the play-in tournament at Crypto.com Arena.
FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
DYNAMIC (DINING) DUO
A self-professed foodie who has already compiled a list of 100-plus New Orleans restaurants he wants to visit, McCollum went into considerable detail Friday describing the elements of a Thursday dinner he had with Ingram. The two carried their breaking-bread session onto the floor against Phoenix, combining to score 60 points, doing a ton of damage from the mid-range area. The Pelicans' offense will be tough to slow down when McCollum and Ingram shoot 20/35 from the field, as they did against the Suns.
CASH IN AT FOUL LINE
The benefits of frequent trips to the charity stripe are numerous, including allowing a team to set its defense and getting opposing players into foul trouble. New Orleans established season highs Friday at Phoenix in both made free throws (33) and attempts (41). The Suns only scored six fast-break points and every starter committed at least three fouls.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
At center, Valanciunas (18 points, 17 rebounds at Phoenix) and Howard (14 points, 15 rebounds vs. Clippers) are both coming off big double-doubles Friday. When Howard rests (he only logged 26 minutes Friday, despite the major production), the Lakers have not been using any other conventional center, with their four reserves Friday being Monk and fellow guards/wings Talen Horton-Tucker, Stanley Johnson and Carmelo Anthony.