NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (37-25) AT PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (35-27)
When New Orleans defeated Philadelphia 124-114 on November 29 at the Smoothie King Center, the Pelicans appeared headed for a play-in spot in the Western Conference, with a mediocre 10-9 record, while the 76ers were perched near the elite. East level at 12-6. Things have changed drastically since then, with the clubs changing positions in the respective conference standings – New Orleans moved to fifth place in the West, while seventh-place Philadelphia would be part of the play-in tournament in the East if the season ended now. . Health figured prominently in both developments, with the Pelicans finally able to put their projected starting lineup in play for the majority of a regular season; The 76ers have been without reigning MVP Joel Embiid (knee) for an extended period of time and will not have sophomore scorer Tyrese Maxey (concussion) available Friday, his third straight DNP.
PELICANS
Trey Murphy
Murphy, the NBA’s most prolific three-point shooter over the past four games, is 24/45 over that span, hitting 53 percent of his attempts (New York’s Donte DiVincenzo is next on this four-game sample, scoring 20 hat-tricks). . For the second time in his three-year NBA career, Murphy made 10 three-pointers in a Tuesday game, going 10/14 in Toronto, among his 34 points.
Grass Jones
Jones, the NBA’s most accurate three-point shooter since January 1 (minimum 50 made shots), is 57/105 during this 27-game stretch, hitting 54% of his attempts (Grayson Allen of Phoenix is the second best in 2024). calendar year, at 49 percent). The third-year winger has drained more than three points in six of his last 13 games, after doing so nine times in his first 44 appearances this season.
Zion Williamson
The two-time All-Star was nearly perfect from the field in the Nov. 29 win over Philadelphia, making 11 of 12 shots. Williamson added 11/12 foul shots to lead New Orleans with 33 points. His career scoring average against the 76ers is also 33.0 (in just 31.9 minutes), the Duke product’s best number compared to any of the other 29 franchises.
76ERS
Kelly Oubre Jr.
The New Orleans-born winger has averaged 27.5 points over the past two games, taking on a huge offensive role (total of 41 shot attempts), with Maxey joining Embiid after being sidelined in due to injury. Oubre has remained in a sixth man role as of late, providing much-needed offensive punch to the second unit.
Collective effort
Over Philadelphia’s last 10 games, Oubre (16.4 points per game), Tobias Harris (16.0), Buddy Hield (14.2), Cam Payne (10.2) and Paul Reed (10.0) joined Maxey (28.0) in double-digit scoring without Embiid. We will be counting heavily on this group on Friday to try to slow down the club’s fall in the Eastern standings (4-6 in these 10 matches, 5-10 in the last 15).
Starting lineups from previous match
NEW ORLEANS (37-25, 5TH WEST)
CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas
Notes: This combination is 21-13, giving a winning percentage of 61.8. Willie Green has used 15 different starting lineups this season, but he has been able to lean on this group for three straight games. … New Orleans is a half-game ahead of No. 6 Phoenix (37-26) and a game ahead of seventh-ranked Sacramento (36-26), while already clinching the tiebreaker over the Kings ( by virtue of a 4 -0 lead in the season series). The Pelicans will not have a head-to-head matchup against any of these rivals in March, but will then have three such matchups between April 1-11.
PHILADELPHIA (35-27, 7TH IN THE EAST)
Wednesday loss to Memphis
Cam Payne, Buddy Hield, Nicolas Batum, Tobias Harris, Paul Reed
Notes: This combination is 0-1, becoming the 25th different starting lineup used by Nick Nurse this season. The 76ers are a combined 16-3 when using their two most common starting groups, both of which include Maxey, Batum, Harris and Embiid (Oubre or the currently injured De’Anthony Melton are the fifth starter these two training courses). … The East race between 4 and 8 is so tight that the 76ers are just 1.5 games out of fourth place, but just one game ahead of eighth-place Indiana (35-29).
FanDuel Keys to the Game (Philadelphia City Theme)
BROTHERLY LOVE
With a cast that has remained largely the same for three straight seasons, New Orleans players have developed close bonds on and off the field that are reminiscent of their siblings. This has been demonstrated regularly this season, especially since the selfless Pelicans are 15-0 when dishing out 32+ assists. NOLA recorded 38 assists in Tuesday’s loss to Toronto, three shy of its season high (41 vs. Utah on Jan. 23).
(SHOOTING) EYE OF THE TIGER
Rocky Balboa would certainly embrace the intensity and force with which the Pelicans have played over the past week, pummeling Indiana and Toronto. New Orleans has just put together a 24/49 three-point performance on the Raptors’ home court. The Pels’ three most prolific games in team history from beyond the arc have all occurred since Jan. 17 (23 triples or more in games against Utah, Charlotte and Toronto; the previous franchise record was 22).
MATCH TO WATCH
This category is often about Jones’ elite defense going to work against a dangerous opposing scorer, but the roles have reversed. Philadelphia’s 14th-ranked defense must find a way to contain the elite perimeter shooting of Jones and Murphy, who combined to go 15/22 from three-point range Tuesday in Toronto.
