It’s the season opener for a pair of teams on the NBA hardwood as an interconference battle takes place in the Big Apple. The New Orleans Pelicans are on the road as they travel to face the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday night. New Orleans finished the 2021-22 season with a 36-46 record, leaving them ninth in the Western Conference. They prevailed in the play-in tournament by beating the Spurs and Clippers to advance to the actual postseason field, where they were upended in six games in the opening round by the top-seeded Suns. Brooklyn went 44-38 last season and ended up as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They were swept by the second-seeded Celtics in the opening round. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Nets own a narrow 22-20 advantage and have won seven straight meetings. That includes a 120-105 home victory in the most recent matchup on January 1 5, 2022.
New Orleans played without Zion Williamson all of last season and predictably finished below .500 on the season. The Pelicans earned their way into the play-in tournament before defeating the Spurs 113-103 in the 9/10 game before dropping the Clippers 105-101 on the road in the 8/9 game to earn their way into the field. New Orleans gave Phoenix more than the top-seeded Suns wanted, falling in six games in the opening round. In the offseason, the Pelicans were relatively quiet as they saw Gary Clark, Jared Harper and Tony Snell leave as free agents without adding anyone new. They did manage to sign CJ McCollum, who they acquired from Portland ahead of the trade deadline last season, to an extension. New Orleans drafted Dyson Daniels with the eighth overall pick and E.J. Liddell in the second round.
Last season, the Pelicans were 21st in the league in scoring offense as they averaged 109.3 points per game on the season. New Orleans was 11th in rebounding by collecting 45.2 boards a night while the team ranked tied for 12th in assists by dishing out 25 dimes a night. The Pelicans were 13th in the league in scoring defense as they allowed 110.3 points per game so far this year. Brandon Ingram put up a team-high 22.7 points plus 5.8 boards per contest last season. Devonte’ Graham added 11.9 points plus 4.2 assists a night, Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 17.8 points plus 11.4 rebounds per game while CJ McCollum (22.1 points, 5.1 assists) also averaged in double figures. Trey Murphy III, Jaxson Hayes, Garrett Temple, Kira Lewis Jr., Herbert Jones, Larry Nance Jr. and Jose Alvarado are key pieces in the Pelicans’ rotation. New Orleans was tied for 22nd in field goal percentage by shooting 45.7% from the field as a team last season. The Pelicans were tied for 28th in the league in threes per game as they knoc ked down 10.6 triples per contest and stood 27th in three-point shooting by hitting 33.2% percent from beyond the arc.
Williamson (foot) is day-to-day but said he expects to play in this contest after missing all of last season. Hayes suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow October 7 and is expected to be evaluated later this week. Lewis Jr. has been out with a knee injury with no updated timetable for his return.
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