A look at three key numbers related to Thursday’s game at Chesapeake Energy Arena between New Orleans and Oklahoma City (7 p.m. Central, Fox Sports New Orleans, 100.3 FM):
264: Career games played by Steven Adams in Oklahoma City as a member of the home team (he also appeared in three official “home games” for the Thunder during the 2020 NBA restart). Thursday’s contest will mark his first in the Sooner State as an opponent. According to Basketball Reference, Adams ranks second in Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise history in career offensive rebounds with 1,823 (behind Shawn Kemp at 2,145), while placing seventh in total rebounds. The New Zealand native is No. 1 in the franchise’s record books in shooting percentage from the field (58.9), which should come as little surprise to New Orleans fans who’ve watched Thunder-Pelicans matchups over the previous seven seasons. Among the 29 NBA teams Adams has played against in his career, his second-best field-goal percentage vs. any opponent is vs. New Orleans (66.7, his only higher rate is 70.6 while facing Minnesota). In addition to his career-long accuracy against the Pelicans, he dominated them on the boards in 2019-20, notching a double-double in all three meetings with averages of 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds.
21-21: New Orleans combined regular season record during the calendar year of 2020, which featured a 19-19 mark last season (January through mid-March, then the NBA restart), as well as a 2-2 record so far in December. For what it’s worth, that means the Pelicans can achieve one tiny positive out of a brutal year by winning at Oklahoma City, which would give them a winning final record in ’20. Oddly, in keeping with the theme of breaking even during this calendar year, New Orleans is 10-10 at home and 11-11 on the road (part of that comes from games in the Orlando bubble that nominally counted as home or road games). In case you were wondering, during the 2019 calendar year, New Orleans went 27-51 (16-28 to close the ’18-19 season, then 11-23 to begin ’19-20).
19: Ranking among the 30 NBA teams for Oklahoma City (1-2) in net rating (minus 3.6 points per 100 possessions, via NBA.com). Through three games, the Thunder have been much more competitive than virtually every analysts projected, as predictions commonly tabbed OKC to finish in last place in the Western Conference. The Thunder used a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jumper to beat Charlotte by two points in their season opener; lost by a point to Utah at home; then trailed unbeaten Orlando by two entering the fourth quarter Tuesday before losing by 11. Oklahoma City has been slightly above average defensively (No. 15 in efficiency), while scoring between 107 and 109 points in each of its three games.
Pelicans Keys To Victory
STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH IN THE PAINT
Both teams rank in the top eight in rebounding percentage, with New Orleans sixth at 52.3. Zion Williamson (9.3 rpg), Adams (8.5) and Josh Hart (7.5) have made the Pelicans a tough team to deal with on the boards, while OKC is led by Darius Bazley (9.0) and Al Horford (9.0).
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: MAKE THREES
After shooting 19/42 from three-point range in a win over Toronto, the Pelicans are just 18/83 from beyond the arc, a major factor in losses to Miami and Phoenix (and a narrow win vs. San Antonio). Three of NOLA’s four most frequent three-point shooters are under 30 percent on the season, with only Brandon Ingram (10 of 24, 41.7 percent) off to a good start in that category among that quartet.
BE READY FOR A FEW SURPRISES
The Thunder are relying on major contributions from several youngsters who were not high draft picks, nor familiar names from NCAA careers. Second-year pro Isaiah Roby (Nebraska) scored 19 points vs. Orlando two days ago in just the fourth official game of his NBA career, while Lu Dort (Arizona State) is averaging 18.7 ppg, the Thunder’s third-leading scorer. International rookies Theo Maledon (France) and Aleksej Pokusevski (Serbia) are also part of OKC’s rotation.
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January 01, 2021 at 12:29AM
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Behind the Numbers presented by Entergy: Pelicans at Thunder (12/31/20) - Pelicans.com
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