New Orleans Pelicans: 4 storylines to watch against the Milwaukee Bucks

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Milwaukee Bucks: A night for the guards

An important narrative to watch will be how both teams’ guards fare off. In the first meeting between Milwaukee and New Orleans, all three of Jrue Holiday, Eric Bledsoe, and Lonzo Ball were important for their respective teams.

Starting with Holiday, his return to New Orleans probably did not go as he had envisioned it. He played the second most minutes and scored the second most points—22 on 8-of-17 shooting—of anyone on his team but ended up on the losing side. Holiday is still a beloved figure for Pelicans fans after his seven seasons in the Big Easy.

It was through trading Holiday that the Pels acquired Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe has had an up-and-down season so far, marked by inconsistency but ultimately defined by disappointment in my view. Despite being a former first team all-defense player, Bledsoe has not lived up to the hype on that end of the floor. On offense, his presence is made somewhat redundant by Lonzo Ball who is being given precedence over Bledsoe by Stan Van Gundy and whose ability to play off the ball makes him a better fit next to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

Bledsoe is practically playing in a new role this season. Nearly 51 percent of his shots come from three, where he is converting at nearly a 40 percent clip. That percentage from the perimeter is much better than Bledsoe’s career average, but questions remain over whether this improvement is sustainable.

Yet, for all of Bledsoe’s woes this season, he enjoyed his revenge game against the Bucks in late January. Bledsoe went off for 25 points, making seven threes and dishing out four assists. The Kentucky product is averaging less than nine points per game over his last five outings, but he should go into the game at Milwaukee highly motivated. Watch out for the possibility of him having a big night.