Despite their losing streak with McCollum as the lone member of their big three, the Pelicans are deep elsewhere, with the kind of rangy, youthful athletes that often give the older, slower Mavericks trouble. They are deep with wings after gobbling them up in recent drafts (watch out for Trey Murphy III, a personal favorite sporting 48-40-92 shooting splits), and Jonas Valencuinas is the exact kind of bruiser that can exploit Dwight Powell on the boards.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s balancing act Spencer Dinwiddie did an admirable job of filling in for Luka in his two-game absence, scoring 71 points over the combined two games, including 11 threes and a whopping 24 (! ) free throw attempts. Then, in Luka’s first game back, he struggled mightily, going 5-of-16, his worst shooting performance in over a month. The discourse about playing next to Luka often lacks nuance, but it’s true that basketball players often benefit from the rhythm, urgency and aggression that comes from leading an offense for an entire game.
Mavericks vs. Pelicans Preview: 3 things to watch for as Dallas hosts New OrleansThursday night’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans marks the beginning of a torrid stretch of games — eight straight against teams. 500 or better, all of whom are fighting for playoff seeding within a tightly contested Western Conference. While the Mavericks had a rough January of injuries and defensive struggles, the Pelicans had an arguably worse stretch. While missing their top two players in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the division rival went 3-13 for the month and have lost nine straight after ending December near the top of the west standings at 23-13.
In his career, he’s scored his fifth highest average against the Pelicans, including 49 last year. Before this season, his four highest career totals were in February. We know Luka often goes on heaters over a stretch of games, much like he did in late December in the team’s seven game winning streak, and the aforementioned signs point to another. January was a little more hit or miss, as Luka appeared to wear down from the weight of carrying the team’s creation burden, concluding with his recent ankle injury. Seemingly rested, without his premier scoring partner in Christian Wood, one might feel safe betting the over on Luka’s point total. The wounded, but talented, Pelicans As previously stated, the Pelicans are struggling, but they still have plenty of athleticism and scoring punch.
Mavericks vs. Pelicans Preview: 3 things to watch for as Dallas hosts New OrleansThursday night’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans marks the beginning of a torrid stretch of games — eight straight against teams. 500 or better, all of whom are fighting for playoff seeding within a tightly contested Western Conference. While the Mavericks had a rough January of injuries and defensive struggles, the Pelicans had an arguably worse stretch. While missing their top two players in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the division rival went 3-13 for the month and have lost nine straight after ending December near the top of the west standings at 23-13. Here are a few things to watch for! More video game numbers from Luka In Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Luka Doncic scored 53 points to the rest of the team’s 58.
CJ McCollum had 21 points and seven assists in the loss. Dallas has won two of its last three and last edged Detroit in a 111-105 victory on Monday. This game was the Luka Doncic show as he carried the Mavericks offensively to the close home victory. Doncic dropped 53 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in the win. For New Orleans, Zion Williamson is still out with his right hamstring injury but he was officially cleared to start running on Tuesday.
The Mavericks are lucky that Zion Williamson remains out, as there is no player on earth, except for Giannis Antetokoumpo, more capable of exploiting their rim protection weakness. Still, Brandon Ingram is back after missing 29 games. He’s shot poorly while shaking off the rust, but he and CJ McCollum bring plenty of points on their own, and this could easily be the game where Ingram looks like himself.
Pick against the spread, over/under for Pelicans vs. Mavericks on ThursdayWe have an interesting Western Conference showdown to look forward to tonight as the New Orleans Pelicans (26-26) cap their three-game road trip when facing the Dallas Mavericks (27-25) at 8:30 p. m. ET. New Orleans has plummeted down the standings with a nine-game losing streak and was last clipped by Denver in a 122-113 loss on Tuesday. After holding a three-point lead at the half, the Pelicans were outscored 36-24 in the third quarter and that proved to make the difference for the rest of the matchup.
Here are a few things to watch for! More video game numbers from Luka In Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Luka Doncic scored 53 points to the rest of the team’s 58. In his career, he’s scored his fifth highest average against the Pelicans, including 49 last year. Before this season, his four highest career totals were in February. We know Luka often goes on heaters over a stretch of games, much like he did in late December in the team’s seven game winning streak, and the aforementioned signs point to another. January was a little more hit or miss, as Luka appeared to wear down from the weight of carrying the team’s creation burden, concluding with his recent ankle injury. Seemingly rested, without his premier scoring partner in Christian Wood, one might feel safe betting the over on Luka’s point total.