Game two preview: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Dallas Mavericks
After a win in their season opener against the Orlando Magic the New Orleans Pelicans face their first real test of the 2014-2015 NBA season on Saturday night as the Dallas Mavericks come to town fresh off a dominating offensive performance in Utah.
Dallas enters the game at 1-1 after a heartbreaking 101-100 loss on opening night to the San Antonio Spurs, which happened in part because of an awful Mavs debut from Chandler Parsons. Dallas bounced back with a 120-102 win over Utah on Thursday as Parsons bounced back to score 21 points which tied for the team lead with Dirk Nowitzki.
New Orleans meanwhile take the floor at 1-0 after a dominating second half performance against the Magic led by Anthony Davis and his historic 26 point, 17 rebound, 9 block night. The Pelicans now start a tough five game stretch that will be an early barometer as to how far they have to grow to be considered a playoff team in a brutal Western Conference.
When and where: 6 pm CT at the Smoothie King Center
How to watch: The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports New Orleans.
Injury report:
Dallas: Raymond Felton is suspended and will miss the game.
New Orleans: None
Probable starters:
Dallas: PG Jameer Nelson, SG Monta Ellis, SF Chandler Parsons, PF Dirk Nowitzki, C Tyson Chandler
New Orleans: PG Jrue Holiday, SG Eric Gordon, SF Tyreke Evans, PF Anthony Davis, C Omer Asik
Other players to watch:
Dallas: Devin Harris, Brandon Wright, Al-Farouq Aminu
New Orleans: Ryan Anderson, Austin Rivers, Jimmer Fredette
What to watch for:
Who defends Monta Ellis?
Ellis has a reputation as an inefficient chucker but Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has found a way to make Ellis fit in the context of a team offense. The key to Ellis’ game is his blazing speed which Carlisle tries to unleash by letting Monta catch the ball on the move and work off of screens. If Ellis can get to the rim he is most effective as he shot 61.5 percent at the rim last year. The Pelicans best chance to defend Ellis seems to be Jrue Holiday thanks to his length but Eric Gordon probably gets the assignment to start the game. What Monty Williams does in the key possessions late in the game could be one of the things to decide the game.
How does Dirk Nowitzki change the Pelicans rim protection?
The Pelicans absolutely dominated the rim on Tuesday thanks in part to Anthony Davis and Omer Asik seemingly always being at the rim when the Magic got there. Things change now, though, as unlike the Magic the Mavs have a power forward that can burn the Pelicans from the perimeter. Anthony Davis is going to need to stick close to Nowitzki at all times in order to bother his shot and doing so will keep Davis away from the rim. Asik should be able to hold his own against the rest of the Mavs but if he gets in foul trouble the Pelicans could be in trouble.
Can New Orleans protect the offensive glass better?
Nikola Vucevic and the rest of the Magic pulled down 16 offensive rebounds on opening night after Asik or Davis contested a shot and no one rotated down to help corral the misses they caused. The Magic offense wasn’t good enough to make the Pelicans pay for the extra chances but the Mavericks will be. With Tyson Chandler being the master of the tip out to teammates keeping Dallas off of the offensive glass should be one of the keys to the game for the Pelicans.
Can the Pelicans make shots?
As scary as it sounds the Pelicans left a ton of points on the floor against Orlando. The team missed a bunch of wide open looks and went 15-31 from the foul line. With the Mavericks offense as explosive as it is, the Pelicans are going to need to make threes and foul shots to stay in the game. On the bright side the Pelicans only turned the ball over nine times Tuesday which is a nice sign heading into a game against a Dallas defense that shouldn’t create many turnovers. If the Pelicans can just knock down their open looks we should get a great game.
What does the bench have in it?
Outside of Ryan Anderson’s 22 points (on 22 shots) the Pelicans bench didn’t deliver much on opening night. Austin Rivers was ok on the offensive end but struggled a bit on defense, John Salmons stunk and Jimmer Fredette went 0-6 though all the shots were good ones. If New Orleans is going to only get production from six players beating the Mavericks, and any of the potential Western Conference playoff teams, is going to be very tough. Can anyone step up? Does it start Saturday?