The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in an interesting Western Conference showdown from the Paycom Center. The Pelicans were off to a nice start to the season but with four straight losses coming into this one, they know they need to get back onto the winning path. For the Thunder, a three-game winning streak has given them some more confidence of late and they'll want that to keep going into the weekend. The Pelicans won the first meeting of the season between the two sides and will be looking to continue their in-season dominance on Friday night in this one.
The Pelicans have been the talk of the league for much of the beginning of the season but a recent four-game skid has people wondering if and when they can bounce back. They still come in with an 18-12 record but before the losing streak started, they were sitting near the top of the Western Conference. It isn't quite as concerning given the quality of the teams that they lost to in Milwaukee, Phoenix, and a pair against Utah, with three of those coming on the road. This group hasn't been a stranger to big wins themselves this season, having won two in a row against the Suns prior to their losing streak and they'll need to regain that confidence. One issue for this group has been when they hit the road, with a 6-8 record away from home, which is sure to test them again on Friday night.
It hasn't helped that this group has a number of key injuries that they continue to navigate. Zion Williamson (illness ) is the obvious big name who remains out and with Brandon Ingram (toe) out into next month, questions remain as to where this group will find scoring. Larry nance Jr. (Achilles) is a name to keep an eye on and while he was out for Thursday's game, his emergence back into the lineup could come at a crucial time for this one.
mean muggin' ?? pic.twitter.com/svjEzsYG65
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) December 23, 2022
While it might be a surprise based on how the last few years have gone for this team to be finding success, their stats on both sides of the ball make it clear that this is a strong team. While the defense has been strong, the offense has been carrying this group so far. They come into this one ranked third in the league in scoring and fifth in field-goal percentage. The concern for this one is that the Pelicans expect to be without their top two offensive threats. Williams (25.2 ppg) and Ingram (20.8 ppg) have formed into one of the league's best duos and without them, the losses have come. CJ McCollum (18.7 ppg, 5.8 apg) has been solid through the x-factor remains Jonas Valanciunas (13.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg), who will need to be a force in the paint to generate second-chance points.
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