Mavericks vs. Pelicans Game Preview

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Pelicans (31-34, 12th) return home to the Smoothie King Center for a four-game homestand looking to right the ship against a tough divisional rival. After a week-long West Coast road trip, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum will lead the way against the new-look Dallas Mavericks (33-32, 7th).

The New Orleans supporting cast did a decent enough job against the Sacramento Kings in a loss, but Ingram and McCollum needed 30 shots combined to score just 38 points. Although the five starters scored double figures against the Kings, their production could have been more consistent all season.

The home team's two marque stars will have their hands full with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who are just 2-5 since teaming up before the trade deadline.

Lately, it's been tough for B.I. and CJ. McCollum is averaging 21.1 points and 5.9 assists, and Ingram is averaging just 18.2 points and 3.4 assists over the last 10 games.

Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain), Jose Alvarado (right tibial stress reaction), and Larry Nance Jr. (left ankle sprain) are all listed as out on the injury report. E.J. Liddell (right knee ACL injury recovery) and Dereon Seabron (G League two-way) are also unavailable.

When: Wednesday, March 8 @ 6:30 PM CT
Where: New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
Watch: Bally Sports NO, ESPN
Listen: 99.5 WRNO

Javale McGee (right ankle sprain) and Maxi Kleber (hamstring) are both listed as questionable and day-to-day on the injury report. McGee has not appeared in a game since the All-Star break, but Kleber, coming off a December hamstring surgery, usually logs around 25 minutes per game though his time has been limited since returning.

The Dallas defense has been suspect since the Irving trade but the offense has been much improved over their last 10 games, scoring 122.1 points a night. Jason Kidd's squad puts up 114.7 points per 100 possessions (6th best) while giving up 113.7 points per 100 possessions (21st).

New Orleans has won just 8 games since Williamson went down on Jan. 2 and they rank 26th in points scored per 100 possessions. Coach Willie Green stressed the importance of getting up at least 35 three-pointers per game after a Feb. 7 home win over the Atlanta Hawks. They've hit that mark once in the 9 games since.

Green's squad has attempted 28.6 3-pointers in that nine-game stretch, making them at a 31.9% rate, the worst rate in the league behind Charlotte and Houston. They've also dropped 17 of the past 22 games and have fallen out of a playoff spot with 17 regular season games remaining.

The Pelicans made just 5 of 20 three-pointers in the last meeting with the Mavericks, a 111-106 loss for New Orleans. Dallas knocks down 4.2 more threes per game than the opposition, 15.1 (third-most in the league) compared to its opponents' 10.9. New Orleans has made more than 11 three-pointers once since the NBA All-Star break last month, a loss to Toronto.

It's a bit late in the year to be confounded by 2-3 zone defenses, but that happened in Sacramento Monday night. Green explained how "they threw a different look at us. They played some zone. We just allowed it to stagnate us offensively. It fueled their opportunities offensively. We missed shots. We turned the ball over a little too much."

Those kinds of mistakes can kill a season. New Orleans already suffered through a ten-game losing streak. Sitting at 12th in the West, the hopes of a postseason berth will continue slowly slipping away unless McCollum and Ingram can lead the team to their first win in a week.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Mavericks: Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Reggie Bullock, Dwight Powell

Pelicans: CJ McCollum, Josh Richardson, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III, Jonas Valanciunas

Mavericks vs. Pelicans Game Preview | March 8

Projected Starting Lineups:

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