Best in the West

The Mavericks are quietly tied for the best record in the West with the reigning champs, as both Dallas and Denver sit at 8-2. Dallas is playing their second straight game in New Orleans due to the In-Season Tournament. In the last game, Kyrie Irving made seven of his ten three point attempts on his way to a 35 point game in the win. Luka Doncic added 30 and the two stars are learning how to play together. After the game, head coach Jason Kidd said, “Everyone’s being unselfish, (Irving and Doncic) are two leaders who set the tone — just unselfish and playing with the pass, and then our pace is different than what we’re used to.”

Luka Doncic is leading the Mavericks in points, rebounds and assists as he averages 32.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG. and 8.5 APG. Luka has been hot from three this season, he makes 4.3 three-pointers a game and is shooting 41.7% on his attempts. Doncic has scored 30 or more in his last three games, including a 44-point performance against the Raptors. Kyrie Irving is adding another 23.0 PPG and 6.8 APG out of the backcourt, he has been heating up lately, as he had five threes against the Clippers and seven on Sunday. Tim Hardaway Jr. is the third leading scorer, but has come off the bench for all ten games. Hardaway Jr. averages 17.6 PPG to lead the second unit. Grant Williams is the last double-digit scorer, he adds 11.4 PPG as the starting power forward.

Derrick Jones Jr. starts as an athletic wing defender who can finish above the rim, he is averaging 8.9 PPG. Derrick Lively is off to a strong start to he rookie season, he broke into the starting lineup and now averages 8.8 PPG and 6.7 RPG. Dallas is all offense, their offense ranks 2nd in efficiency.

Pelicans on Five Game Slide

The New Orleans Pelicans started the season 4-1, but then lost five straight games and now find themselves with a losing record and no positive momentum. They lost every game of a three-game road trip against Denver, Minnesota and Houston, and now must play a Mavericks team they just lost to. In their last game, seven different Pelicans scored 10 or more points, but no one was able to take the game over as no player had over 20. The leading scorer was Brandon Ingram and his 20 points, as the Pelicans lost by 12.

Health is always an issue for the Pelicans, they have only played ten games so far, but their top three scorers have all missed at least two games so far. Brandon Ingram has been the top scorer with 22.6 PPG and also adds 5.3 RPG and 4.7 APG. Ingram has scored 20 or more in his last four games, including a 31 point outing against the Rockets. CJ McCollum is the top outside shooting threat, he averages 21.7 PPG and team highs in assists with 5.7 per game and made threes with 3.2 makes a night. McCollum is out of the lineup recently with a collapsed lung. The basketball world is figuring out if Zion Williamson is the future NBA superstar we all imagined, or just a nice productive power forward. He has been trending toward the latter with averages of 21.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG this year.

Jordan Hawkins is the first player to fill a starting role when a star is out, he is averaging 12.6 PPG. Jonas Valanciunas and Herbert Jones are the typical 4th and 5th starters, each can score but Valanciunas’ strength is rebounding, while Jones is their perimeter defender. The Pelicans are ranked 19th in the league in offensive efficiency, and their defense is ranked 15th. The Pelicans play at the 10th fastest tempo in the league.