The Phoenix Suns (12-50) will host the New Orleans Pelicans (27-36) on Friday, as both teams look to get off to a good start in March. The Pelicans fell short to the Lakers in their last game, 125-119, as Julius Randle led the way for New Orleans with 35 points. Phoenix played their previous game on Monday and beat Miami on their home court, 124-121, snapping a 17-game losing streak for the Suns. It was a team effort for the Suns who had six players finish in double-digits.
These are two teams that are at the very bottom of the league, as far as records go. The Suns have already been eliminated from playoff contention, and the Pelicans could probably be a better team if they weren’t dealing with the Anthony Davis dilemma. Each team’s path to success could take a drastic swing this offseason depending on what they do in free agency and the draft. Devin Booker has already made it clear that he wants some help in Phoenix, as he and rookie Deandre Ayton are two pretty good young pieces to build around. If they could land a big free agent to go along with that top draft pick, then who knows how things could start looking in Phoenix. The Pelicans are -4 in this game.
Pelicans Messing with Davis
New Orleans continues to give Anthony Davis minutes because they can’t sit a healthy player according to the NBA’s rules. Davis only played 21 minutes in his last game against the Lakers, while Julius Randle played a team-high 40 minutes. Not taking anything away from Randle but in Davis did finish with 22 points and +4 when he was on the court. Randle finished -10.
It remains to be seen which team decides to deal for AD this offseason. Rumors have circled around the Celtics and Lakers as the front runners but who knows. One side is going to give up a lot of assets to bring in a player of AD’s caliber. The Celtics and Lakers have a lot of young talent on their rosters, and both teams are built to win a championship right now. LeBron James is doing everything he can to groom this young Lakers squad into a playoff contender, but perhaps he can’t do it on his own anymore. Whether or not the Celtics retain Kyrie Irving, this offseason will be a popular headline. There are a lot of moving pieces when it comes to where Davis could land, and a lot of that has to do with the Warriors.
This will be the first time these two teams have faced off since early November. The Pelicans took care of business at home winning 119-99, as both Davis and Randle finished with double-doubles. The game-plan changes a bit this time around with Davis’ cut in minutes and the Suns having home court advantage. Talking Stick Resort Arena hasn’t seen a lot of Suns wins this season, as they enter this matchup with a 7-22 home record.
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