National Basketball Association

Phoenix Suns v New Orleans Pelicans 11/4 Preview

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Phoenix Suns (1-4) v New Orleans Pelicans (0-5)

Friday 11/4/16 5:00pm

Smoothie King Center

Fox Sports Arizona/Arizona Sports 98.7

Season Series 0-0

All-Time Series – Phoenix Leads 27-21

Last matchup – Apr. 9, 2016 – Suns 121 – Pelicans 100

Suns’ last game – 118-115 Overtime win over the Blazers

Blazers’ last game – 83-89 Overtime loss to the Grizzlies

Suns Scoring Averages – 104.0 PTS/G – 112.6 OPP PTS/G

Pelicans Scoring Averages – 98.2 PTS/G – 106.6 OPP PTS/G

Preview

Phoenix Suns

1-4 absolutely sounds better than 0-5 as the Suns pulled out a gritty 118-115 overtime victory over the Portland Trailblazers on a buzzer-beater three by Eric Bledsoe that dropped literally seconds after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series…T.J. Warren continues to lead the Suns in scoring upping his average by .9pts following Portland to 22.4…Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker are shooting a paltry 8-37 from three combined…The Suns as a team average .276 from beyond the stripe; they averaged .348 all of last season…The Suns’ 1-4 record is not entirely indicative of their play. Led by Tyson Chandler’s 12.4 rebounds per game, the Suns are 3rd in the league in both defensive and total rebounds (Marvin Gortat is the last to average double digit rebounds for a season with 10.0 in 2011-12)…Led by Eric Bledsoe’s 4.4 – 6.2 free throws per game, the Suns are 2nd in the NBA in free throws attempted, and while they are 23rd in FT% at .724%, they are 4th in free throws made…Defensively their backcourt is playing more effective than their frontcourt as they are 5th in the league in steals per game with 9.6, but 25th in blocks with 3.4…Following their game against Portland, the Suns are still 29th in the league in personal fouls averaging 27.4 per game…At 22.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and with a .506 field goal percentage per game, T.J. Warren is an early season Most Improved Player of the Year candidate…Leandro Barbosa won the MIP award in 2005-06, one year before the year the Suns should have won something much bigger…

New Orleans Pelicans

Although there are four winless teams in the NBA, the Pelicans are the worst at 0-5…Even with Anthony Davis and an Alvin Gentry offense predicated on fast break scoring and offensive sets of passing until a player has an open shot, the Pelicans are struggling mightily to score the ball, averaging 98.2 points per game which is 24th in the league. Their 106.6 defensive allowed points does not rank much higher, currently sitting at 20th…Although the Pelicans scored 35 points in the second quarter of their previous game against the Memphis Grizzlies, they never did get a flow of the offense going, scoring 13, 11, 16, and 8 in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and OT periods, respectively. In an awful game all the way around, they held the Grizzlies to 9 points in the 4th quarter which forced OT…The Suns and Pelicans are very similar in several ways: the Pelicans ballhawks and leads the NBA in steals with 10.2 per game, although they are 18th in turnovers at 14.2. New Orleans is also 24th in personal fouls with 23 per game. Led by Anthony Davis’ 12.0 rebounds per game, the Pelicans are 6th in defensive rebounds and 12th in total rebounds per game…Speaking of Anthony Davis, his 31.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.8 steals, and 2.2 assists makes him an early MVP candidate…