Two sides in contrasting form go head to head on Friday night as the New Orleans Pelicans take on the Golden State Warriors at the Smoothie King Center.
This will be the third meeting between the two Western Conference teams this season, with the Warriors winning both clashes on home court in October's double-header.
Match preview
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The defeats continue to pile up for a shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans side as they suffered a 128-100 blowout against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday evening.
Coming off the back of losing their first game of the season, Ty Jerome dropped a career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, while Jarrett Allen and Jaylen Tyson both finished with a 16-point 11-rebound double-double to fire the Cavs to their 16th win.
In the absence of several key players like Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and leading scorer Brandon Ingram, Antonio Reeves knocked down a season-high 34 points while rookie Yves Missi tallied 12 in 19 minutes of action for New Orleans.
The Pelicans have now lost nine of their most recent 10 outings, with a 101-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets on November 16 being the exception, and are 4-12 this season to sit bottom but one in the Western Conference standings.
Next up for Willie Green's men is the challenge of a high-flying Golden State Warriors side whom they have already met twice this season, suffering back-to-back defeats in their October double-header.
The Warriors cruised to a dominant 124-106 win over the Pelicans in their first encounter of the season on October 30, one night before claiming a 104-89 victory, with Buddy Hield dropping a combined 49 points across both games.
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As for the Golden State Warriors, they maintained their lead at the top of the Western Conference power rankings as they brushed aside the Atlanta Hawks 120-97 at the Chase Center on Wednesday night.
The Warriors came out swinging as they outscored Atlanta 41-22 in the first quarter to set the tone, with Andrew Wiggins finishing the contest with a game-high 27 points on an efficient 71% shooting from the field.
While the Hawks struggled to find their rhythm in offence once again, six Warriors players finished with double digits, including Trayce Jackson-Davis, who tallied a 14-point 11-rebound double-double and Stephen Curry, who knocked down 23 points.
This followed a dramatic 102-99 defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, their second road defeat in three games since picking up five wins from their opening five games on their travels to start the 2024-25 campaign.
Steve Kerr's men have now improved to 11-3 this season, including 5-1 on home court, and this has been owing to the solid job done at both ends of the country, as they are the league's third-highest scoring side per game (119.6) while allowing the fifth-fewest points (109.1) and the second-fewest field goal percentage (43.7%).
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Team News
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The New Orleans Pelicans were without their top-eight players against the Cavaliers on Wednesday, including and Jose Alvarado (hamstring), Ingram (ankle) and Murphy (hamstring), and they remain questionable for Saturday's clash.
Dejounte Murray (hand fracture), CJ McCollum (adductor) and Williamson (hamstring) all continue their spells on the sidelines while Jordan Hawkins and Herb Jones have been ruled out through back and shoulder injuries respectively.
The Pelicans opted to ease their growing injury woes by signing free agent Elfrid Payton and the experienced guard put in a solid shift on his debut against Cleveland, dropping 11 points to go with eight assists and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors remain without De'Anthony Melton, who is set to miss the remainder of the season as he undergoes surgery to repair his sprained ACL.
Reece Beekmann is also recuperating from an ankle problem and the 23-year-old shooting guard is considered day-to-day heading into Saturday's clash.
New Orleans Pelicans possible starting 5:
Payton, Boston Jr, Missi, Green, Robinson-Earl
Golden State Warriors possible starting 5:
Waters, Curry, Jackson-Davis, Green, Wiggins
We say: Golden State Warriors to win by 10+ points
It has been a disappointing start to the campaign for the New Orleans Pelicans, who have already lost 12 games and find themselves at the bottom but one in the Western Conference standings.
The Golden State Warriors bounced back from their loss against the Clippers with a solid display against Atlanta last time out and we are backing them to make it three wins from three against Green's men this season.
Joshua Ojele
