Pelicans and Suns Renew Young But Bitter Rivalry
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Many teams have drawn the ire of New Orleans Pelicans fans over the years. The Houston Rockets. The Los Angeles Lakers. The San Antonio Spurs.
Currently, the Pelicans' rivalry rankings have two in particular jostling for the top spot.
Inside the Southwest Division, the Memphis Grizzlies have taken on the role of arch nemesis. Like the Pelicans, they are young, deep, talented, and are led by one of the league's most dynamic young talents.
The other, the Phoenix Suns, are in town this weekend for a two-game series at the Smoothie King Center.
Apr 28, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) is defended by Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the first half of game six of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans hasn't had a tremendous history of animosity towards the Suns. They aren't in the same division and until last season, the two franchises had never met in the postseason.
However, the ties and tension have increased over the past year.
To quickly review...
Pelicans head coach Willie Green counts former Pelicans head coach and current Suns head coach Monty Williams as one of his closest friends and a mentor.
Green played for Williams as a New Orleans Hornet, where he was teammates with...Chris Paul, the current Suns point guard and another one of Green's closes friends.
It was a feel good story until the teams met in the playoffs and the upstart Pelicans pushed the top-seeded Suns to six games in their first round series.
It was a physical, testy, and emotional battle and the young Pels set the stage for the success they've experienced so far.
Phoenix beat the Pelicans 124-111 in the first meeting of the season back on Oct. 28, and has won seven of the last 10 games between the two.
New Orleans was without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Herbert Jones and Dyson Daniels had yet to break into the rotation.
The Pels were beaten on the boards, and even though they outscored Phoenix at the free through line (+2) and from beyond the arc (+15), the Suns dominated points in the paint (60-36), second chance points (18-8), and fastbreak points (22-11).
Williamson is back for round two, but Ingram, Jones, and Jose Alvarado are all out.
The Suns are without forwards Jae Crowder and Cameron Johnson, though Crowder has yet to play while Phoenix tries to trade him, and backup guard Duane Washington Jr.
The Pelicans enter tonight's game as the hottest team in the NBA and current holders of the league's longest win streak at five games.
Over this most recent stretch, the Pelicans have been carried by their defense, ranking first in DRTG (100.0). Their net rating is nearly three points better than the Boston Celtics.
That and the superlative play of Zion Williamson, who's averaged 28.0 pts, 9.8 reb, 6.0 ast, 1.8 stl, and 1.6 blk on 65 percent shooting while getting to the line almost 10 times per game.
They'll need to lean on the defense once again against the Suns, who come to New Orleans having lost three of their last four including a 27-point loss to the Celtics on Wednesday.
But since CP3 arrived in Phoenix, the Suns have not lost three games in a row and it's doubtful they're looking to end that streak tonight.
The Suns still rank in the top six in both offense and defense, so predictions of their demise are still premature.
Expect another intense battle in what has become a very big rivalry in a very short time.
Phoenix Suns Leaders:
Points: Devin Booker - 27.9 ppg
Rebounds: Deandre Ayton - 9.5 rpg
Assists: Chris Paul - 8.9 apg
Blocks: Bismack Biyombo - 1.4 bpg
Steals: Paul - 1.6 spg
New Orleans Pelicans (16-8) vs Phoenix Suns (16-9)
Smoothie King Center
Time: 7:30 PM CT
Watch: Bally Sports New Orleans
Listen: WRNO 99.5FM
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