Grizzlies at Pelicans
The Memphis Grizzlies have more than doubled their season loss total in the last 10 games and they’ll try to avoid another setback when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Memphis is coming off a 10-point loss Wednesday against the resurgent Atlanta Hawks, but a couple other losses in the last three weeks haven’t been so easy to accept. The Grizzlies also went down to the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz, two of the bottom teams in the West, taking some of the shine off their 21-4 start.
Memphis displayed its balance when these teams met Nov. 3 in the third game of the season, as all five Memphis starters scored between 11 and 16 points and three finished with 11 rebounds in the 93-81 victory. New Orleans star forward Anthony Davis was limited to 14 points in that game, as the Grizzlies did an admirable good job limiting his looks at the basket. Davis took just 12 field-goal attempts and two free throws in that game, well off his season averages.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Memphis), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (25-10): Memphis coach David Joerger talked about the need for another ball handler on the floor with Mike Conley, who the Hawks were able to bottle up in Wednesday’s victory, forcing him into five turnovers, compared to six assists. The only other true point guard on its roster is journeyman Beno Udrih, who’s much more accustomed to scoring the basketball than passing it. New Orleans starts a pair of 6-4 guards in Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday who could also give the 6-1 Conley problems seeing over the defense.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (17-18): New Orleans has been remarkably consistent this season, as least as far as its record is concerned, hovering between two games above and two games below .500 all season. The Pelicans might be trending downward by losing three of the last four games, most recently to the Charlotte Hornets, who came into Wednesday’s meeting with twice as many losses (24) as wins (12). Davis finished under his 23.7 scoring average in four straight games before putting up 32 points against the Hornets on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Holiday has 22 blocked shots to lead all NBA point guards
2. Davis has three games in the last two seasons with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots while the rest of the NBA has zero such performances in that span.
3. Memphis F Zach Randolph, the team's third-leading scorer and top rebounder, has missed the last nine games with a sore knee and the Grizzlies have gone 4-5 in that span.
PREDICTION: Pelicans 89, Grizzlies 88