3 Questions Entering Pelicans-Clippers Play-In Game Friday Night

The New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers played each other multiple times during the NBA regular season, but there are still some key questions to be answered about both teams heading into Friday’s Western Conference Play-In Game that will decide the 8-seed in the playoffs.

The NBA Play-In Tournament is coming to an end and for the Western Conference, the final 8-seed game will take place between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles on Friday night.

Following their appearance in the Western Conference Finals a season ago, the Clippers find themselves in the Play-In Tournament and looking to pick up one more win to get back to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Since Paul George has returned to the Clippers starting rotation after missing nearly three months with an elbow injury, Los Angeles has gone 4-2, including their loss on Tuesday in Minnesota. 

The Clippers' defense is extremely strong with George in the rotation and with all of the shooters they have out on the perimeter, New Orleans is going to have their work cut out for them defensively in this game!

Speaking of the New Orleans Pelicans, they have been one of the hottest teams in the league during the second-half of the season and really seem to be settling in as a basketball team right now.

There is a certain level of confidence that this team is playing with  that almost makes them hard to cheer against and with high-level veterans like Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas, they are more than capable of going into Los Angeles and leaving with a win.

Will Los Angeles take advantage of playing this 8-seed game on their home court and advance to the playoffs or will New Orleans use their current momentum to their advantage?

Let’s take a look at some key questions heading into this game between the Pelicans and Clippers on Friday night. 

How Will New Orleans Defend the Clippers?

The Los Angeles Clippers are not the best offensive team in the league, as they finished the regular season ranking 24th in offensive rating, but they have various players that can knock down shots from the perimeter and both Paul George and Reggie Jackson are more than capable of driving to the rim.

Not to mention, Norman Powell has proven to be a key X-factor for this team offensively off-the-bench in recent weeks.

The main question surrounding the Pelicans heading into this game is how will they defend the Clippers?

Shooting 37.4% from three-point range as a team, the Clippers were the third-best three-point shooting team during the regular season and they are coming off a game against the Timberwolves in which they shot 16-35 (45.7%) from long-range.

Los Angeles has made at least 15 three-pointers in seven of their last eight games heading into this matchup against New Orleans on Friday and the Pelicans are coming off a win against the San Antonio Spurs in which they allowed the Spurs to shoot 38% from distance.

The Pelicans cannot let the Clippers settle in from beyond-the-arc whatsoever, but they also cannot allow them to score freely in the paint.

New Orleans did control the paint scoring in their four games against the Clippers this season, only allowing an average of 37.0 points in the paint per game to Los Angeles, but the Pelicans can be vulnerable at times on the interior, especially with Jonas Valanciunas on the bench.

It will be very interesting to see how head coach Willie Green and the Pelicans come out and defend the Clippers on Friday night.

What is Los Angeles’ Solution to Stopping Jonas Valanciunas?

In four games against Los Angeles this season, Jonas Valanciunas averaged 22.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and shot 59% from the floor for the Pelicans.

He recorded three double-doubles and even had his best performance of the year against the Clippers, scoring 39 points and grabbing 15 rebounds back in November.

Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein are going to have their hands full on the interior trying to stop Jonas Valanciunas and this could very well end up being the key to this game for Los Angeles.

Valanciunas is one of the best rebounders in the league, as he ranked seventh in rebounds per game this season, and he is coming off of a 22-point, 14-rebound performance against the San Antonio Spurs.

With Zion Williamson still out, Jonas Valanciunas has been the third key offensive weapon for the Pelicans next to Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. Keeping him off the glass and forcing him to areas of the court he is not comfortable with will make the Clippers better defensively and allow them to space the floor against a strong, taller Pelicans lineup.

One of the keys to the game for the Clippers is finding a way to limit Jonas Valanciunas’ opportunities offensively.

Can CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram Find Offensive Success Again?

On Wednesday night against the Spurs, CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram combined for 59 points on 23-42 (54.8%) shooting. Add Jonas Valanciunas to the equation and the three Pelicans’ stars combined to score 81 of their team’s 113 total points in the game!

Getting some production from other key players in Jose Alvarado, Jaxson Hayes and Herbert Jones is great and will go a long way in the Pelicans potentially finding success on Friday night, but at the end of the day, their chances to claim the 8-seed lie in the hands of Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.

These two stars are going to have to once again show up in a big way offensively and have a combined performance like they did against the Spurs to get past a tough defensive team in the Clippers.

Playing just one game with each other against the Clippers this year, McCollum and Ingram combined to score 34 points in a game that Los Angeles won by 19 points.

Taking their total stats and averages from the year against the Clippers, these two have combined to average 37.3 points per game against Los Angeles.

On Friday night, CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram are going to have to eclipse their combined season-average against the Clippers if they are to carry the Pelicans to a victory simply because of this team’s lack of overall offensive production. 

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