Some NBA teams seem to play well against others, which certainly seems to be the case in recent years for New Orleans against the LA Clippers. The Pelicans are 9-2 against the Clippers under third-year head coach Willie Green, highlighted by a victory in the 2022 Western Conference play-in tournament in Los Angeles that sent to the playoffs. New Orleans is 3-1 at Smoothie King Center and 6-1 at Crypto.com Arena over that span, showing dominance at two venues (seven wins have been by more than 10 points).
In Friday’s home game at 7 p.m. (Bally Sports, WRNO 99.5 FM), the Pelicans have the opportunity to win the season series against the Clippers for the fourth straight campaign. It’s another important game for fifth-ranked New Orleans (39-26), which trails three games behind fourth-ranked Los Angeles (42-23), making Friday’s matchup perhaps the last realistic chance for the Pelicans to stay in the race for the top. four seeds from the West.
Defense was a big factor in the Pelicans leading the 2023-24 season series 2-1, limiting the Clippers to just 106 points in the two triumphs (LA averaged 117.0). Asked after Friday’s shootout what was so effective on defense against the Clips, Pels guard CJ McCollum responded: “I think we’re just a good defensive team, to be honest with you. We’ve been great defensively all year, especially in the half court. We’re good in pick-and-roll, pretty good in rim protection, trying to get teams off the three-point line. For us, it’s about sticking to our principles every night and being a top-five and top-ten defensive team.
Other shootaround notes:
McCollum on how the Pelicans should respond to Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland: “Just get off to a better start, maintain a high level of physicality throughout the game, understand that it’s going to be another tough, physical game in the half court , where there are a lot of changes. The pace may not be as high, as both teams historically play a little slower against each other. LA ranks No. 21 in pace, five spots slower than NOLA.
LA Clippers Scouting Report
Offensive Effectiveness Rank:3 (119.1)
Defensive efficiency ranking: 14 (114.7)
Net Ranking: 8 (+4.4)
The guy to consult: Kawhi Leonard (23.7 points per game) and Paul George (22.2) are Los Angeles’ best weapons. The best news of 2023-24 was that they played in 59 games each (of the team’s 65 games), although they were both DNPs on Sunday in a back-to-back loss to Milwaukee. As for their status for Friday’s back-to-back games at Crescent City, the Clippers are required by league rules to submit their official injury report by the local deadline of 1 p.m. Third-leading scorer James Harden did not play Thursday due to injury.
Rising: Fifth-year wing Terance Mann is probably the least known starter among the Clippers’ first unit, but he provides valuable defense and shooting. His three-point accuracy is down a bit this season at 33 percent, but he is a career 37 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Mann was instrumental in Los Angeles’ run to the 2021 West Finals, the franchise’s only appearance in that round.
Starting lineups from previous match
THE CLIPPERS (42-23, 4TH IN THE WEST)
Bones Hyland, Terance Mann, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac
Notes: This combination is 1-0, becoming the 13th different starting lineup used by Ty Lue this season. Thursday was Hyland’s third start of 2023-24. … If the Clippers win Friday, the second tiebreaker with the Pelicans would be the conference record, where Los Angeles currently holds a slight advantage (25-17 to NOLA’s 24-18). … LA is 2.5 games behind third-place Minnesota (45-21).
NEW ORLEANS (39-26, 5TH WEST)
Wednesday loss to Cleveland
CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: This combination is 23-14, the most common of the 15 different starting lineups Green has used this season. … The Pelicans are guaranteed to still be in fifth place through Friday’s games regardless of the results, but they are just one game ahead of sixth-place Sacramento (38-27) and 1 .5 game ahead of No. 7 Phoenix (38-28). ). The Suns visit Charlotte on Friday at 6 p.m. This is the only relevant game on the West scoreboard for New Orleans. On Saturday, Sacramento hosts New York, three hours after New Orleans kicks off in the Blender against Portland.
ARC BOUNCE
It’s hard to win in the NBA these days when a team is having a brutal three-point shooting night. The Pelicans are 4-12 this season when making single-digit three-pointers, as well as 3-10 when shooting under 30 percent from distance. New Orleans had its worst game of the season Wednesday against Cleveland from the arc (4/22, 18 percent), but shot well in three games against the Clippers (40 percent).
MATCHUP TO WATCH, PART I
When Los Angeles has the ball, it’s a battle of stellar units. New Orleans’ sixth-ranked defense will try to slow down the third-ranked Clippers’ offense. So far this season, that’s exactly what the Pelicans have done, limiting Los Angeles to 109.9 points per 100 possessions (compared to a season-long rate of 119.1).
MATCHUP TO WATCH, PART II
Sixth men Trey Murphy and Norman Powell have been among the league’s best reserves all season, but especially since the All-Star break for Murphy, who has led the NBA’s subs since Feb. 22 for the three points scored per game (4.5). Powell ranks seventh in this statistic, with 2.6 (among substitutes with a minimum of five games played since the mid-season break).
