New Orleans Pelicans: What to watch for vs. Atlanta Hawks
Three days after a disappointing home loss to the Sacramento Kings the New Orleans Pelicans will get a chance to get back on the winning track on the first night of a short two game road trip when they take on the Atlanta Hawks.
The Pelicans hope that Anthony Davis can bounce back from his first bad game of the season after he totaled just 14 points in 38 minutes on Tuesday. The team will also look to get more production from their role players after receiving just 19 total points from six players against the Kings. Someone needs to step up in Eric Gordon‘s absence though it remains to be seen who that is.
Atlanta meanwhile enters the game as a bit of a disappointment so far this season. The Hawks sit at just 7-6 on the young year in the weaker Eastern Conference and have lost three of their last four games. Al Horford, the Hawks best player, doesn’t look to be quite himself so far this year as he tries to return from a torn pectoral muscle that ended his season last year and it has hurt Atlanta. But the Hawks are a team that can get hot from three on any night and blow out an opponent so the Pelicans will have to do all they can to limit the Hawks clean looks.
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When and where: The game will be played at 6:30 pm CT at Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
How to watch: The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports New Orleans.
Injury report:
Atlanta: None.
New Orleans: Eric Gordon is out with a torn labrum.
Probable starting lineups:
Atlanta: PG Jeff Teague, SG Kyle Korver, SF DeMarre Carroll, PF Paul Millsap, C Al Horford
New Orleans: PG Jrue Holiday, SG Tyreke Evans, SF Darius Miller, PF Anthony Davis, C Omer Asik
Other players to watch:
Atlanta: Mike Scott, Dennis Schroder, Thabo Sefolosha, Pero Antic
New Orleans: Ryan Anderson, Austin Rivers, Jeff Withey, Luke Babbitt
Things to watch:
Can Asik protect the rim while defending Horford?
The Hawks run a five-out system that looks very much like the San Antonio Spurs offense, thanks to head coach Mike Budenholzer’s time in the Spurs organization. The key to that is Horford who is a great shooter from mid-range and has even experimented with corner threes. Asik will have to respect Horford’s shooting ability and come away from the rim but the Pelicans also rely on him to protect the rim. He will have to do both on Friday to give the Pelicans their best chance to win. Can he do it?
Will there be production from the small forwards who play?
With Eric Gordon out with his shoulder injury Tyreke Evans has been bumped to shooting guard for more minutes. That means the Pelicans need to get contributions from some combination of Babbitt, Miller and John Salmons. On Tuesday those three combined to go 1-7 from the floor in 33 minutes. The Pelicans need to get way more than that to be able to win games. It has to start Friday.
Can the three big lineup work?
The Ryan Anderson/Anthony Davis/Omer Asik lineup wasn’t great against the Kings and it is hard to see it working against the Hawks. If Monty Williams throws out the lineup it would mean that one of the three players is chasing Kyle Korver or DeMarre Carroll around the floor or that the Pelicans are playing zone against a team with one of the NBA’s best shooters in Korver. Neither defensive gameplan sounds great, which means it could be tough for Williams to get his only five players that are playing well right now, on the floor together for extended minutes.
Can Austin Rivers get back to early season Austin Rivers?
In his last five games Rivers is just 7-28 from the field with more fouls than assists, which has really hurt the Pelicans. Rivers was one of two reliable bench players for the Pelicans this year when he was playing well in the first seven games and now that Gordon is out they need that production again. This is the type of game the Pelicans could need big minutes out of Rivers in so he needs to find a way to be productive again. If he doesn’t the Pelicans may not be able to win.