The final third of the New Orleans Pelicans’ schedule has primarily been a tour of Eastern Conference opponents. Starting on Feb. 14th and ending on Apr. 3, the Pelicans will have played teams from the East in 17 of 22 games.
(The argument to move the Pels to the East just makes sense, the NBA should go ahead and expand into Seattle and Las Vegas and move the Pelicans and either Minnesota or Memphis to the Eastern Conference. But, we’ll have that discussion another time.)
Two of their final three road trips take them through the East, starting with tonight. New Orleans begins a three-game swing by visiting the rebuilding Raptors in Toronto.
Though Toronto will be without starters Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, the Raptors have talented scorers in Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., and RJ Barrett. In 8 games against the Pelicans, Barrett has averaged more than 20 points and five rebounds per game, including 24.6 over his last five.
Rookie Gradey Dick was impressive against the Pelicans in New Orleans. In a reserve role he scored 22 points, with four three-pointers. He’s reached double figures in seven of his last 12 games while converting nearly 52% of his his attempts from long distance.
After taking three days off, the Pelicans are looking to build upon their 27-point win over the Indiana Pacers last Friday night. Brandon Ingram had one of the greatest performances of his Pelicans career, finishing with 34 points (13-21 shooting), eight boards, six assists, and a franchise-record plus/minus of +45 in just over 30 minutes.
Since returning from missing two games due to illness, Ingram has scored at least 22 points in four consecutive games, his second-longest streak of the season (Ingram scored 22 or more in six straight games from 11/18-11/27/2023). He’s averaging 27.5 pts, 5.8 reb, 5.3 ast, and 1.0 stls per game, while shooting 49.3% overall and making 35% of his three-pointers.
Trey Murphy III tied his season-high with 28 points (6-12 3PA). After scoring 20 or more only three times in his first 33 games, Murphy has done so in two of his last three, averaging 21.7 ppg while shooting 53.8% from the floor and 45.2% from beyond the arc. Trey is also posting averages of 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals over this three-game stretch.
Without Poeltl and Barnes, the Raptors will be down two critical defenders. Kelly Olynyk and Chris Boucher are both active, but Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas should have plenty of opportunities to dominate inside.
The Pelicans have been exceptional on the road this season, with half of their wins coming away from home. They need to win at least two of three on this trip, as they face two teams well below .500 in the standings.
Willie Green’s team should be rested and ready. Tuesday night, they will be tested. Stay tuned.
Most Recent Starting Lineups
| New Orleans Pelicans | Toronto Raptors |
| G – CJ McCollum | G – Immanuel Quickley |
| G – Herb Jones | G – Gary Trent Jr. |
| F – Brandon Ingram | F – RJ Barrett |
| F – Zion Williamson | F – Ochai Agbaji |
| C – Jonas Valanciunas | C – Jakob Poeltl |
Injuries
New Orleans Pelicans: Dyson Daniels (left knee meniscectomy) is OUT.
Toronto Raptors: Scottie Barnes (broken left hand), Bruce Brown (knee), and Jakob Poeltl (finger) are OUT.
Who: New Orleans Pelicans (36-25) at Toronto Raptors (23-38)
Season Series
- Feb. 5: Pelicans def. Raptors, 138-100
- Mar. 5: New Orleans Pelicans at Toronto Raptors
Where: Scotiabank Arena
When: Mar. 5, 6:30 PM CST
Where to watch: Bally Sports New Orleans
Where to listen: WRNO 99.5
For more content, visit HITP Sports on YouTube or HITP Sports online.
READ MORE
- Do the Pelicans Possess Enough Playmakers?
- Foul Trouble: Why Doesn’t Zion Get the Star Treatment From NBA Refs?
- Pelicans Head To Big Apple Seeking To Snap 2-Game Skid
- Points at a Premium as Pelicans Offense Finds Its Way
- How Can the Pelicans Get the Most Out of Zion & BI When They Don’t Share the Floor?
- The Future of the Pelicans May Hinge on Whether Zion & B.I. Can Make the Leap to Elite Duo
- Will Missing Dyson Daniels Damage the Pelicans’ Playoff Push?
- Pelicans Begin Critical 4-Game Home Stand Against Woeful Wizards
- Pelicans Can Move 10 Games Above .500 For First Time Since 2018 With Win Over Lakers
- Pelicans Open 4-Game Road Trip With Major Test Vs. Clippers
- New Orleans, You Have A Problem; Pelicans Facing 4-Game Losing Streak
- Boston Is a Tough Place For Pelicans To Try To Break Out of the Doldrums
- Jordan Hawkins’ Mulitfaceted Offensive Game Makes Him a Real Weapon For The Pelicans
Test
Where you at Shape?
Hey SS and KCB. It’s a shame we can’t post like we did in the good ole days. Hope you’re both doing ok.
I guess y’all can see my post. I don’t know why but I can’t for some odd reason. I can see KCB post and yours NOH. I miss the old site. It’s to bad they pulled it. Seemed like the community was growing. I’m doing good. Just got back from my annual vacation down in Cape Coral to catch some spring training games. Twins and Red Sox games.
Looks like our Pels are finally staying healthy and breaking through. Let’s hope this is the year they make a deeper run and with a little luck make it to the WCF.
Y’all stay safe and hope everything goes your way.
Let’s Geaux Pels
Hope this message gets through LOL
I miss the old site too. Was definitely fun!
May be going to the Pels game in Brooklyn on the 19th and will try to fly down to NO for a home playoff game (hopefully).
Let’s Geaux Pels!!!
HERB!!!
We’ll be looking for you KCB. Maybe hold up a picture of KCB so we know it’s you.😂 Don’t know how many games you get to watch. Team is healthy and playing good. Should (hopefully) beat Philly tonight without Embiid and Maxey.
That’s a good idea! I got League Pass again this year so I get most games unless on NBA TV.
Hung on last night in Philly! A road win, is a road win!!
Zion looked really good last night.
Your post came through loud and clear SS. Glad you had a good time on your annual trip. I really miss your OTP videos. I don’t even know if Oheh is on this site anymore. Haven’t seen a post from him a while. But hopefully they can get where we can text more regularly. They won’t respond. It’s a shame with Pels having such a great season. Keep posting and we will as well. I know Deacon was posting for a while but he has stopped.
GEAUX PELS!!!
WON’T BOW DOWN!!!