Pelicans Head To Philly In Clash With Shorthanded 76ers
The New Orleans Pelicans (37-25) head to Philadelphia to face the shorthanded 76ers (35-27) on Friday night. New Orleans is second in the NBA with 19 road wins, only trailing the West's top-seed Minnesota Timberwolves (21) in that category. Philly will be without four of their six top scorers for the game and have lost four of their last six games. The Pelicans have not won a game in Philadelphia since 2016.
The Pelicans look to end that streak off the hot shooting of Trey Murphy III, who is averaging 24 points a game on 50% shooting from three-point range in his last four contests. Murphy III went through a rough patch in January, shooting just 29% from beyond the arc. Since the All-Star break, Trey has boosted his shooting percentage from downtown to 42.3% in his last seven games. New Orleans is now fifth in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage (38.2%).
Nov 29, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nicolas Batum (40) dribbles against New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) during the first half at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Philly will look to veteran forward Tobias Harris to shoulder most of the offensive responsibility. Harris averages 17.5 points per game, third on the team, but is averaging 21.5 points over the last week. The 76ers acquired sharpshooter Buddy Hield before the trade deadline to add perimeter shooting to the Sixers team, and he's done just that. Hield shoots 42.3% from deep in the 12 games since joining the Sixers.
Despite the Sixers missing key offensive production, the Pelicans must still play mistake-free basketball. Philadelphia is No. 1 in the league in steals per game, and they commit the fewest turnovers in the league. New Orleans hasn't swept the season series with the Sixers since 2013. New Orleans won the opening game between these teams on the back of Zion Williamson's 33 points.
Williamson's 51 games this season are already the second-most games played of his career. This season, Zion is having a career year passing the basketball with 5.2 assists per game. That number has skyrocketed in the month of February with a higher usage rate, utilizing the 'Point Zion' feature of the Pels offense. He averages 6.5 assists in the month of February.
New Orleans is currently No. 5 in the crowded Western Conference. There are only four games separating the fifth from the ninth seed in the West. After Friday's game in Philly, New Orleans heads to Atlanta to wrap up their road trip.
