NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans started their road trip by pulling to within one game of the franchise’s all-time road winning streak, and they ended it by dropping two of three.
Such is the plight of the New Orleans Pelicans. Every moment on the brink of breakthrough seems to bring with it an equally deflating moment. This weekend the Pelicans earned a split with the Dallas Mavericks by doing the opposite of what was expected.
New Orleans won a game playing without 60 percent of its starting lineup on Saturday on the second night of a back to back, before following that up with an agonizing loss in the clutch on Monday.
As a result the Pelicans failed to take the season series from the Mavericks and failed to move up in the Western Conference standings.
Tonight’s matchup with the Charlotte Hornets is important, coming at the start of a difficult home stand. New Orleans faces Western Conference foes the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, and Oklahoma City Thunder over the next nine days. Those teams are a combined 20 games over .500.
The Hornets gave the Pelicans a game last month in Charlotte, even without LaMelo Ball. Ball will be in action tonight. Though the Hornets come in having lost three in a row, all by double-digits, LaMelo has been solid, averaging 24.5 pts, 6.5 reb, 5.0 ast, and 4.0 stls in two games.
Terry Rozier has been hot as well. “Scary” Terry is posting a career-bests in scoring (24.0 ppg) and FG% (.457).
Expect to see a similar strategy from the Hornets as the one employed by the Mavericks; get up a lot of shots and try to speed up the Pelicans to force mistakes.
Keys to Victory
Take Advantage of Open Looks. The Pelicans are never going to be a volume three-point shooting team. They just don’t have it in them. But they do have to be aggresive in taking advantage when teams give them good looks from the perimeter. The Hornets will provide the opportunities, they allow 34.0 three point attempts per game and teams are shooting 39.7% against them from beyond the arc. New Orleans has seven players shooting better than 40.0% from deep over its last 10 games, but one who has been struggling is Trey Murphy III. “Trigga” is converting only 31.0% of his three-point attempts over his last six games. Perhaps tonight, TM3 refinds his stroke.
Ingram on Track. Brandon Ingram’s unusual season continues. At times Ingram has been one of the deadliest and most efficient scorers in the NBA. At others, he has been content to fade into the background. B.I. has yet to score 20 points in a game since the calendar turned to 2024. Over his last seven games, Ingram is averaging 13.1 points, 5.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 turnovers, while shooting 42.3% from the floor and 29.4% from beyond the arc in 29.4 minutes of action. B.I. hadn’t gone more than two straight games without scoring at least 20 points all season and his current drought is the longest since his rookie year. The Pelicans have to find a way to get Ingram going again.
Win Inside. Over their last 10 games the Pelicans are averaging 50.4 points in the paint per game. In the month of January, it’s down to 50.0. Since Willie Green has taken over, the Pelicans have typically been at their best when they win the battle inside. When New Orleans wins, they hold a three-score advantage down low. When they lose, their opponents have usually played them to a stalemate. The Hornets are allowing 53.2 points in the paint per game this season, among the worst in the NBA. The Pelicans must take advantage inside tonight on offense, while securing the defensive glass and keeping Charlotte from getting second chance points, as they failed to do down the stretch against the Mavs.
| PITP (wins) | OPP PITP (wins) | Diff. | PITP (losses) | OPP PITP (losses) | Diff. | ||
| 2023-24 | 53.6 | 45.8 | 7.8 | 50.5 | 49.6 | 0.9 | |
| 2022-23 | 56.0 | 48.2 | 7.8 | 50.6 | 50.9 | -0.3 | |
| 2021-22 | 49.3 | 42.2 | 7.1 | 47.7 | 47.7 | 0.0 |
Most Recent Starting Lineups
| Charlotte Hornets | New Orleans Pelicans |
| G – LaMelo Ball | G – CJ McCollum |
| G – Terry Rozier | G – Herb Jones |
| F – Cody Martin | F – Brandon Ingram |
| F – Miles Bridges | F – Zion Williamson |
| C – Nick Richards | C – Jonas Valanciunas |
Injuries
New Orleans Pelicans: Matt Ryan (right elbow surgery) is Out.
Charlotte Hornets: Gordon Hayward (left calf strain) and Mark Williams (back) are Out. Bryce McGowens (hip), Brandon Miller (back), and Frank Ntilikina (tibia) are Questionable.
Who: Charlotte Hornets (8-29) at New Orleans Pelicans (24-17)
Season Series:
- Dec. 15: Pelicans def. Hornets, 112-107
- Jan. 17: Charlotte Hornets at New Orleans Pelicans
Where: Smoothie King Center
When: Jan. 17, 7:00 PM CT
Where to watch: Bally Sports New Orleans
Where to listen: WRNO 99.5
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Black Tie and defense were optional in the first quarter
Maybe the 3 point shot IS in the Pelicans DNA..they just had to find it…