The San Antonio Spurs will look to re-build form, and avenge an earlier season loss, but will have to do so without Tim Duncan when they host the New Orleans Pelicans who have been in some strong form of late. Join The Roar for live scores from 12:30pm (AEDT).
The Spurs were in some brilliant form, however, that has slackened off over the last week with losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Granted, those two teams lead their respective conferences, but the Spurs were blown out in both games losing by 14 and 30 points respectively.
Tim Duncan sitting on the sidelines is a big reason for that. Their defence just doesn’t look the same and it shows on the scoreboard.
The Pelicans meanwhile, enter this game off a loss but have won five of their last seven. While the wins have mainly been against lower ranked teams, it has been confidence restoring for the Pelicans, after some big losses to teams they should have beaten.
The streak has moved them up to 12th in the Western Conference, 4.5 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers who sit eighth.
In November, when the teams met at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, it was the Pelicans who were able to grab a surprise win. And dominant it was, as they ran away by 14 points.
Anthony Davis was the key in that game as he scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. With no Tim Duncan for this clash, someone from the Spurs is going to have to put a stop to him on both ends of the floor if they want to stay in contention.
Ryan Anderson, coming off the bench also scored 30 points for the Pelicans. Kawhi Leonard might be the man to do so, and he was the only reason the Spurs stayed close last time. Both players have good scoring and rebounding ability, although Leonard may have to play slightly out of position to mark up on Davis.
Creativity is also going to play a big part in this game, with the teams having a big inside presence. The battle between Tony Parker and Noris Cole will go a long way towards deciding the match.
Prediction
The Spurs might be in good form but haven’t been the same team with Duncan on the sideline. Still, the home court advantage has been massive, having not lost a game so far this year. The Pelicans will fight hard, but it is near impossible to tip against the Spurs at home.
Spurs by 5.
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