Friday night features a battle of West versus East in the NBA as the New Orleans Pelicans (8-12) take on the Indiana Pacers (12-10). The Pacers will host this one from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
The Pelicans were expected to make huge strides this season behind Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, but they have struggled with inconsistency through the first 20 games.
At 8-12, they currently sit in 13th place in the West. They are coming off of a nice 123-101 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. In the victory, Williamson had 28 points while Ingram added 23.
For the Pacers, they find themselves in 5th in the Eastern Conference. Despite their standing, they come in having lost three of their last four, including a 130-110 loss to the Bucks on Wednesday. They will try to bounce back at home, where they are currently 7-6 on the season.
The Pacers are the favorite playing at home. They are currently -152 to win while the Pelicans’ moneyline sits at +128. The spread features New Orleans +3 while the over/under for total points is 226.5.
By The Numbers
Offensively, Indiana has been the stronger of the two teams thus far this season. They currently rank 9th in the NBA in scoring, averaging 113.9 points per game. The Pelicans rank 18th averaging 111.1 points.
Defensively, neither of these teams have been particularly great. Indiana ranks 19th in scoring defense, allowing 112.2 points per game. The Pelicans rank 21st, allowing 112.5 points.
Pelicans Trying To Turn Around Tough Start
A year ago, Zion Williamson was the most talked about player in the NBA. After breaking in last season, expectations were high for Zion, new coach Stan Van Gundy, and the Pelicans. After a tough start, though, New Orleans is trying to turn around their season and compete for a playoff spot in the West.
Leading the team is Williamson and forward Brandon Ingram. On the year, Zion is averaging 23.7 points on 59.4% shooting. He is also chipping in 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Ingram has also been solid, averaging 23.4 points on 45.9% shooting. He is also chipping in 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
Other contributors include Eric Bledsoe (13.8 points, 3.7 rebounds), Lonzo Ball (12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists), Nickell Alexander-Walker (10.2 points), and Steven Adams (8.7 points, 9.9 rebounds).
Pacers Hope To Defend Home Court
At 12-10, the Pacers find themselves right in the thick of the Eastern Conference. They are only four games back of the top-ranked Philadelphia 76ers and within a couple of games from the other three teams ahead of them. They will try to use their home court advantage to keep pace in the East on Friday.
Leading the way for Indiana is Malcolm Brogdon. The guard is averaging 22.4 points per game on 45.4% shooting. He is also chipping in 4.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
Domantas Sabonis has also been impressive this season. Through 22 games, he is averaging 21.6 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.7 assists.
Others that are chipping in for the Pacers include Doug McDermott (12.7 points, 4.1 rebounds) and Justin Holiday (10.9 points, 4 rebounds).
Taking New Orleans And The Points
These two teams are pretty similar on both ends of the floor. They can both put up points while struggling to keep opponents off the board.
With the teams being similar in nature, I like the Pelicans being spotted the 3 points. There is just too much talent on that team to play so inconsistently. At some point, it is going to click for them, and they are going to go on a run. It is possible that it starts on Friday.
