New Orleans Pelicans vs. Orlando Magic Preview - Mar. 9

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Orlando Magic Preview

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Orlando Magic Preview

• When: March 9, 2022 @ 7 pm CST
• Where: New Orleans, LA Smoothie King Center
• How To Watch/Listen: Bally Sports NO, ESPN 100.3FM New Orleans

The New Orleans Pelicans (27-38, 10th in the Western Conference) welcome the Orlando Magic (44-22, 2nd) on March 9 at 7:00 p.m. CST. This is the start of a four-game homestand for the Pelicans, who face only five teams with a winning record the rest of the season. 

The Pelicans are 4-2 since the NBA All-Star Break after road losses to Denver and Memphis. Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic have won only 3 of their last 10 games and only 9 road games all season.

New Orleans won the first meeting, taking a 110-104 win from Orlando in December. This looks to be a great game for the Pelicans to get their playoff push back on track despite missing two of their biggest stars. 

New Orleans will be shorthanded once again as Brandon Ingram deals with right hamstring soreness while Zion Williamson has yet to be cleared for a return to the court. CJ McCollum, Jonas Valancuinas, and Herb Jones will have to carry the team at home in the second game of a back-to-back set.

Pelicans head coach Willie Green admitted he did not have the team ready to in the 132-111 loss in Memphis. He said, “We could've been better everywhere. We have to have more resistance than we did tonight. I take full ownership of that. We have to be better. We'll get back to the gym sometime tomorrow and watch some tape and see what we can be better at.”

New Orleans will play four home games in the next seven days, all winnable games. The Pelicans open at 8.5 point favorites over the Magic according to the SI Sportsbook. The Pelicans on average score more points, grab more rebounds, make more of their three-pointers, commit fewer fouls, and dish out more assists per game than Orlando. If Willie Green can get the players focused a day after the team’s biggest blowout loss of 2022, New Orleans should be able to keep pace in the NBA Playoff Play-in race.

Magic rookie Cole Anthony said his approach to the game is to “see us grow as a team. We’ve had some really good stretches in games, even where we’ve had three really good quarters in a game, and we play our tails off. And then we have one quarter, a full quarter a night where we relax, catch our breath and that’s when the other team (outplays) us. I’d really like to see us put a complete game together and just hopefully get a win.”

That should sound familiar to fans of the Pelicans, though New Orleans has been trending up since the McCollum trade. Still, with Jalen Suggs and Markell Fultz both expected to remain in street clothes, New Orleans should be able to run out to a comfortable win if they can just contain Anthony in the pick and roll and play to their strengths.

Expected Starting Lineups:

New Orleans Pelicans: C.J. McCollum, Tony Snell, Herb Jones, Jaxson Hayes, Jonas Valanciunas

Orlando Magic: Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba