An interesting stylistic matchup in the NBA should provide fireworks even before New Year’s Eve. The backcourt heavy Phoenix Suns take to the road to face the front-heavy New Orleans Pelicans. Can Goran Dragic and co. manage to outpace and outmaneuver Anthony Davis and the Pelicans? Read on as we give a complete preview of this tantalizing hard court action to come.
Looking ahead to the year to come? Check out our complete picks and predictions for the New Year’s Day Bowl Games and the NFL’s Wild Card playoffs.
Goran Dragic scored 24 points against the Lakers. Eric Bledsoe had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the Phoenix Suns rolled to their sixth straight win (6-0 ATS) Sunday night. Five of those wins came on the road, which should make the Suns very confident heading into their matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night.
[sc:NBA240banner ]The Suns’ stable of guards were firing on all cylinders against the Lakers. Dragic went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, Bledsoe converted all seven of his free throw attempts and Isaiah Thomas scored 15 on 4-for-7 shooting (2-for-2 from the three point line) off the bench.
The Phoenix backcourt should be poised for another big game against the Pelicans. New Orleans struggled to contain Chicago guards Jimmy Butler (33) Derrick Rose (19) and Aaron Brooks (13) from racking up the points. Dragic’s shooting from downtown in particular should have an upswing especially with New Orleans ranking in the bottom half of three-point defense (35.9 percent allowed).
While the Suns’ backcourt may have success against the Pelicans, their frontcourt may struggle. Markieff Morris, who leads the team with six rebounds per game, may have difficulty nabbing boards while matched up against the domineering Anthony Davis.
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Betting on the New Orleans Pelicans
While the Suns have their guards doing most of their work, the New Orleans Pelicans rely on their frontcourt to put their stamp on games.
The Pelicans’ star power forward, Davis, had a big game in the Pelicans’ last outing, a 107-100 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Davis had 29 points and 11 rebounds primarily matched up against veteran forward Pau Gasol. The New Orleans big man may be able to have an even bigger game against the Suns.
Davis is also a threat on the other side of the court. He has 11 blocks over his last two games. With Davis dominating the paint on defense, the Pelicans may be able to force the Suns to attempt low-percentage shots from the perimeter. However, they’ll still need to stick bodies up to the Suns as Phoenix’ three-point shooting (.368) cannot be ignored.
If Davis heats up and starts racking the score up, Phoenix may opt to double team him. Doing so should leave Tyreke Evans some open looks. Evans has shot .459 from the field in December.
While Davis and Evans take care of the frontcourt, Jrue Holiday rounds up the Pelicans with his backcourt play. He has averaged 15.5 points and 7.2 assists per game to compliment Evans and Davis up front. However, his 2.3 turnovers per game may have him giving up some timely turnovers against the Suns’ Bledsoe who has averaged 1.4 steals per game.
The Pelicans are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Suns continue rolling. Take Phoenix to win and cover.
