Pelicans Roll Into Motor City To Face Young, Talented Pistons

After falling to the Celtics on Wednesday night, the Pelicans will try to pick up a needed road win in Detroit.

Author:
David Grubb
Updated:
Jan 13, 2023 3:50 PM EST

In this story:

The New Orleans Pelicans take on the Detroit Pistons Friday night in the fourth game of their current five-game road streak.

New Orleans needs a win in order to give itself a chance of finishing the trip with a winning record. The Pels are 1-2 with tonight's matchup with the Pistons and a MLK Day matinee against the Cleveland Cavaliers remaining.

Once again, the Pelicans will take the court without Zion Williamson (hamstring) and Brandon Ingram (toe contusion).

Against the Celtics, Willie Green was forced into using his 12th different starting of the season. However, the Pelicans have been more successful minus their two All-Stars than would normally be expected, going 6-4 in the 10 games when both have been out.

CJ McCollum remains the biggest factor in keeping the Pelicans afloat. In just his last two games McCollum has scored 72 points on 45 shot attempts.

Over his last seven games, CJ's made 36 three pointers while converting better than 51 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

He's pushed himself firmly into the conversation for a spot as an All-Star reserve considering his production and impact on the team's position among the top three out west.

Meanwhile, the Pistons find themselves 14th in the Eastern Conference standings.

Detroit is coming off of a 17-point home thrashing of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but had lost three straight prior to that.

Dwayne Casey's squad will be missing some major contributors as well. Guard Cade Cunningham, and bigs Marvin Bagley III and Julen Duren are already listed as out for tonight, with center Isaiah Stewart's status a game time decision.

Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic has picked up his offensive production, averaging 23.6 ppg over his last five while shooting nearly 54 percent from deep.

Detroit relies on its perimeter production, with Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, and Alec Burks all averaging at least 14 points per game and combining for nearly eight three pointers each night.

The Pelicans will look to offset those numbers by looking inside to Jonas Valanciunas (17.5 pts/10.8 reb in Jan.) and getting continued contributions from Naji Marshall and Trey Murphy.

New Orleans still has 10 games remaining this month, with six of those on the road. With the Pelicans holding an 8-12 record away from home, a loss to the Pistons would be a setback even without Williamson and Ingram.

This is a business trip, and the Pels have to take care of business tonight.

New Orleans Pelicans (25-17) at Detroit Pistons (12-33)

Time: 6:00 PM CST

Location: Little Caesars Arena

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