- New Orleans Pelicans (2-1) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (3-1)
- When: Wednesday, 01 November 2023 at 7:00pm CST
- Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
- Offensive Rating – NO: 101.6 (28th) / OKC: 111.1 (12th)
- Defensive Rating – NO: 105.2 (8th) / OKC: 111.7 (17th)
- Net Rating – NO: -3.6 (20th) / OKC: -0.6 (15th)
The Set-Up
Flashback to a couple of seasons ago. The New Orleans Pelicans were THAT team for the future. They had Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, some young role players in Jose Alvarado, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III, and a cache of picks from an aging Lakers squad. Let’s also include Memphis when we talk about the window of good young teams, not necessarily closing, but not being as wide open as it used to be. Building a contending team in the NBA is rarely linear. Teams have ebbs and flows as they are being built up to their final form.
The Pelicans and Grizzlies find themselves in sort of a crossroad heading into this season. Both have shaky superstars (for various reasons) and injuries are staring to rear its ugly head on each of these teams’ role players. As we look at teams like this, just know that the road to where we want to go is full of potholes and streaking deers in heat. While we appear to have a young core to build upon, that reality can change on a dime. Here’s to the road being a bit smoother for OKC, but also realizing that these instances are usually par for the course for building a contender.
Injury Report
OKC
- Jaylin Williams (hamstring)
- Kenrich Williams (back)
New Orleans
- Jose Alvarado (ankle)
- Naji Marshall (knee)
- Trey Murphy III (knee)
Three Big Things
- Zion – Outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, and Nikola Jokic, possibly the hardest cover in the game. The task of guarding Williamson will likely fall on a combination of Jalen Williams and Lu Dort. This is where the loss of Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams looms large. Having various defenders that can be thrown at Zion is always more advantageous than just a few defenders.
- Use your fouls – The Pelicans are the worst free throw shooting team in the league currently. Over three games, they are shooting just 62.5% from the line. Zion is the main culprit, shooting just 55.6% on 6 attempts per game. CJ McCollum is only shooting 70% from the line this season (while being an 80%+ free throw shooter for his career).
- The return of home-court advantage – I don’t know why, but I feel like this game will be the return of Loud City. Remember, Oklahoma City didn’t have a chance to participate in the play-in tournament last season. Both play-in games were on the road for the Thunder. I’m sure this game will have a play-in/playoff atmosphere. Like it’s going to be a close game and the crowd will tip the scales in favor of the home team in the 4th quarter-type of game.