4-game homestand preview, Hornets matchup, road trip recap | Pelicans Podcast 1/17/2024

4-game homestand preview, Hornets matchup, road trip recap | Pelicans Podcast 1/17/2024

Welcome in to the New Orleans Pelicans podcast the official podcast of your New Orleans Pelicans a podcast dedicated to everything you need to know about the squad hear from players coaches broadcasters and those who cover the NBA on a daily basis it’s time to flock up the New Orleans Pelicans podcast starts right Now hello everybody and welcome to another edition of the New Orleans Pelicans podcast as always it is the official podcast of your New Orleans Pelicans a very frigid edition of the PS podcast although I don’t know if I can you know say the team is playing fridg

It’s been playing kind of hot here as of late as we’ll talk a little bit about the road trip coming up on today’s show Jim ien offer has got all kinds of info for you hell’s players of the Week player to watch of the week for the team

Plus it is Western Conference Wednesday so we will you know kind of look at a team and a player maybe perhaps that has to you know do some things that we have to kind of keep an eye on here in the Western Conference which is jumbled up

It’s all packed together we’re going to kind of get into all of that and more plus a little teaser a little preview what we want to maybe do on Fridays coming up over the next couple of weeks so we’ll get into all of that and more

Plus by the way as you know it is game day as the pels take on the Hornets and then on Friday it’s Kevin Durant It’s Bradley Beal Devin Booker uh but that’s coming up here on Friday as well as another home game so it’s nice for the

Guys to at least be here the next couple of games here at home so we’ll touch on all that so let’s bring in New Orleans pelicans.com Jim Miken Hoffer who’s from New York and you should be absolutely used to this you should be in the tank top and shorts sipping some iced tea

Kind of like the Kermit meme except that I don’t know I guess the Kermit memes warm tea so never mind I just blew that completely but my point is you should be excited about this you have like the door open when you let me in you know

What though Gus the the problem is is that like even by New York standards today would be a cold day so I mean it’s pretty windy and I think it was like 25 so even in New York I think we would be bundled up in this temperature so yeah

No I I’ve been saying lately that uh if I wanted weather like this I would have stayed up North so we need to change this luckily the forecast is headed in the right direction tomorrow so thank goodness not many days here in New Orleans gym that I can look at it as we

Record this year just after 10:00 in the morning it is still below freezing it is 30° feels like 22 which has warmed up cuz when I walk the mini snower this morning and he’s you know German Brady he’s like this feels great um was 19 I

Don’t know how you do it man I don’t know how I’m not walking around in this temperature I did that I remember having to as a kid having to stand at the bus stop for the school bus to come and they were would not let you walk inside even

If it was minus5 degrees outside so those days are over I don’t want any part of that anymore I did my time Gus and now I’m in the South and I’m enjoying life and and happy to have only this will be hopefully our like the only

Winter week that we get all year so hopefully that’s this will be the end of it all right well I tell you what let’s um let’s let’s do this because doing time is kind of what the pels had to do on the road there 10 days five games we

Sat here in the studio and looked at it as you I think you called it a season defining road trip and I still think you may be on to something on there and I think you were absolutely right to say that so I’m kind of curious as to your

Thoughts about what you thought about the five game road trip because they did come back 3-2 had a chance to go 4- one and I got some thoughts on it overall but I want to hear yours all right you called it a season defining road trip

They go three and two what did you think of that trip yeah I mean by far it was so much more positive than negative and if you want to look back if if it is a season defining Ro trip to me it kind of cemented them more in the in kind of the

Next tier an upper tier of the West for them to be able to go into Sacramento and win by 30 plus and then go into Golden State win that game by 30 plus beat the Mavericks short-handed there was a loss to the nuggets in between there but we all know the nuggets are

The defending champs and they’re a very good team um I thought it was just a great trip overall obviously if Monday’s game if they’re able to close that out you’re looking at really kind of an an amazing trip where you go four- one but

As it was to be 3-2 I thought it was very good and now you have this four game home Str stand that’s stretched out over nine or 10 days where you’re going to get some practice time um so this is another opportunity to add some more distance between yourself and 500 as

Well as potentially making yourself even more cemented as a top six team in the west as you mentioned four straight and you know look we talked about it as well at the beginning of this month month because we’re kind of at the Midway point of the I see what I just did

Midway point of the Season which is going to be a little preview on Friday what we’re going to talk about but it is we are at the Midway point of the season so we’re going to get into that here in a little bit as well but this four game

Home stand it’s nice I I think it’s kind of like what you need here before you you kind of go back on the road a little bit later during Marty grow and that’s going to be another tough one and things that in but I think that’s the things

That we kind of look at here Jim to me I look at that five game Road Trip and I go okay let’s um you know that King when you had to get off to a really good start and you did you showed up and you

He had a very good start in that first quarter Golden State a place that you hadn’t really won both of those Arenas we talked about in the Friday podcast those places never boo their team you left Sacramento and golden state with the home crowd booing their team which

Is an incredible feat there you knew it was going to be tough when you went to Denver and that’s one of those things where it’s something else I saw on this road trip because we saw it with Dallas on Monday and we saw with I think Denver

On Friday when they when good teams come off of losses we’ve seen the Pelicans do it they tend to respond and you have to be ready you have to be ready to match it with energy you have to be ready to also match it with your player on the

Court the Utah Jazz which I think Jim I don’t know if are they going to be one of your Western Conference teams to watch because they they’re all of a sudden inside the 10 somebody forgot to tell them the tank again like last year and here we go but they spanked Denver

So you knew the very next game they going to come out and you saw Denver play like that on that Friday I I go to what Mike Malone did in the first quarter I think what a minute into the game he challenged a foul by yonas and

Yoka uh I mean um yic you don’t who challenges in the first minute of a game so that he was setting the tone though for his team that this game mattered and I think you kind of saw that with Denver as well after the pels kind of maybe

Surprisingly beat them on Saturday you saw Jason kid and that team play harder they they were more physical they they they had to match it so I think when I look at it though I think they’re capable of beating those teams right so I’m leaving this season defining road

Trip going I I I still feel about the same way as I do with this Pelicans team if they can mature grow up figure out the late game situations it happens some nights another team wants it more than you for whatever reasons but that’s that one

Game but in a Four game series jimm I’m starting to feel a little bit better about this team because they’re playing the top team in the west they’re inside of five games of first place like I’m looking at all these different things if that if that was that tough road trip I

Saw that team do that I’m feeling good here in January 17th yeah I mean I think there’s a lot of teams in the NBA and especially the West that if you gave them that five-game schedule and you told them you’re going to go three and two I think they’d be very happy with

That um obviously they were a couple possessions away from being 4- one on the trip so um that would have been you know incredible to to be able to do that well but I agree I think my perspective if anything improved a bit I I I had a

Lot of optimism and enthusiasm about the direction that the team was heading before the road trip started but I think I feel even better about that as well as their chances to um I’m sure we’re going to discuss this as the rest of the season goes on but just that race for

Being in the top six I mean they’re in a lot better position now than if they obviously if they had gone one and four or had a a a rough road trip um when you when you have a a five gamer like that against good teams a lot of times you

Kind of just want to tread water but they actually gain ground on a few teams in the west that they’re competing with um by the way too I I think you made a good point about the way that other teams respond to losses and the way the

Pelicans respond to me the way the Mavericks their body language and their the way that they acted during the game Monday afternoon it it reminded me of the Michael Jordan meme where he’s he’s looking at a a laptop or or and he says I took that personal they definitely

Seem like they were upset by the way Saturday’s game went where the Pelicans had four of their best players sidelined and New Orleans was still able to get that win so there was definitely a clear indication to me that the Mavericks badly wanted to win the game Monday and

Even despite that I I thought they were they were physical against the Pelicans more physical than they had been in the previous game and yet New Orleans was still in really good position Midway through the fourth quarter to get that win just weren’t able to close it out

And you know seems like other than the Clippers game um every loss the Pelicans have had lately has been close and that that’s been frustrating and again and this is not to accentuate the negatives or things of that nature but it’s just to point out some things of note right

Like Trey Murphy hasn’t been the Trey Murphy we kind of know in terms of um knocking down those threes everywhere and we’ve seen a couple of guys like Brandon Ingram I think he’s in a shooting slump right now you know I mean he’s missing some shots and all I know

He’s still doing other things the assists the rebounds and stuff like that but we’ve kind of seen that a little bit what I so those are the two things that I would say in two losses maybe those two players if they’re just normal right like they’re have their normal game

Maybe the pills win those games so that’s what I’m saying that’s a good thing because in those losses I can look at it that Dallas game you didn’t hit the threes Trey Murphy couldn’t hit anything you know Brandon Ingram struggled to make mides and jumpers and things that nature and Denver and also

In Dallas those two guys you expect that aren’t going to do that normally and if they just play a normal game not an exceptional game just their normal game pels may win that so again that’s something good as well the other thing that stood out in this five game stretch

Gym and I and I I kind of hinted at this earlier in the season I dare say and we said it Zion getting closer closer and closer to how he looked at the time last year before season came to an end with an injury he he visually looks a little little

More little chiseled right at that free throw line which we can talk about the free throws of this team but still but you could see that as well but more importantly you can see it in the energy you can see it in the play right in one

Of those games on the road and I think might have been that Dallas game as well you kind of saw him um pick up the pace there a little bit on one of those Road games to secure the win you saw him you know come in into the fourth quarter and

Kind of take over like you’re seeing him be quick you’re seeing him take on three Defenders and Jim the difference is now he’s not losing the ball on the way up he’s not losing it on the dribble uh one of the one of the plays on Monday which

Was beautiful to watch and it you know kind of goes unnoticed because of the loss but he did a between the legs dribble to start the drive in the paint and spun and kissed it off the glass in a second that’s a good Zion that’s a healthy Zion that’s I’m feeling good

Zion and the other thing more importantly too Jim I saw emotion yeah I saw emotion like and he talked about it afterwards in that game against Dallas that he loves this bleep and he’s like he’s cussing you know he’s talk I love that because that’s what we’ve been

Wanting to see right that’s that’s what we want to see and again he said at beginning of season I’m not where I need to be just yet and that’s what I said earlier this season if he hits his quote unquote stride if he’s in the best shape

Of the season if his game is growing and it’s where he’s happy and it’s March watch out right and that’s what I’m saying we’re mid January and I’m starting to seeing games Zion be able to take over I’m starting to see in games attitude I’m starting to see in games

You know the defensive approach blocking shots that that’s a Zion that feels good about everything that he’s doing and that’s what I think to me stands out yeah I mean I think the you can see it kind of in his step you know you mentioned several of the aspects of of

How he looks uh defense defensively he’s been a lot more of a factor lately I do think that you know and he said this recently that he still isn’t isn’t totally there 100% with his rhythm but I definitely think that we’re starting to see that come back um and obviously you

Know ultimately Monday was a loss but you see that they can still compete in games when you know brand like you said Brandon Ingram didn’t have a great shooting game he had kind of an off off night or off afternoon um and then for them to be able to get the win Saturday

When they don’t have as many guys on the court as are available I mean these are there’s just a lot of good signs going forward as far as the potential that they have and and overall I think they showed that during the road trip yeah no doubt all right Jim let’s get into

Obviously tonight’s game got the Charlotte Hornets here how what what do we know about the Hornets as they enter tonight’s contest in terms of where they are this season I know they had some injury issues with ball as well but he seems to be healthier mhm um and look

This was a team that kind of looked like a year or two ago right they might be taking that next step to become a playoff team and suchu show look you don’t any game any given night can do that but give us a Scouting Report I gu

Yeah I mean like you said I think they were a team that made the play in tournament a couple years in a row which is similar to the Pelicans what the Pelicans have done the last two years but I mean they’ve dropped off since then and injuries have been

Unfortunately for them a huge factor I know a lot of people watch the game between the Pelicans and the Hornets on December 15th which was actually pretty close the New Orleans won 112 to 107 um lamelo ball didn’t play in that game they were missing a couple other players

Including Mark Williams their starting center really though since that game in mid December the Pelicans are 10- six which is tied for the seventh best record in the league Charlotte is 1 and4 which is the worst record in the NBA over that span so they’ve really hit a a

Stretch here where they’ve been struggling big time um you mentioned lamel the ball with his injuries he’s only been back for the last two games but he’s averaged 24 and A2 points 6 and a half rebounds four steals in these two games since he’s been back from his

Recent injury um they it just doesn’t seem like they can compete when he doesn’t play they’re three and 17 this year in the 20 games that he hasn’t played in so clearly they need him to be on the floor and even when he’s played he’s um they’re five- 12 with him so to

Me one of the key tonight against Charlotte is they have to Pelicans really defensively have to focus on lamelo ball Terry roier and Miles Bridges those three guys in their last game against Miami and this is not something that I have seen in a long

Time in the NBA so they lost to the heat they scored 87 points but they had three guys that scored 20 plus which you would think if you have three guys that scored 20 or more you you’re going to get more than 87 points but they’re um they just

Need more from the rest of their the roster they’re relying on a lot of guys who um are unproven in the NBA and haven’t done a lot in their career so far so obviously that that sounds like a team effort that that the Hornets are

Going to sort of need there how how do you come back because obviously in the NBA it’s about matchup so who guards lamelo yeah I mean I think just like with a lot of instances recently I think it’ll probably be herb Jones that gets a lot of that responsibility um CJ

McCollum will be important as well because if takes lamelo ball or takes Rosier then Terry Rosier I think um CJ will be on one of the other guys so those will be important I think Brandon Ingram also is important against um miles Bridges and uh we’ll see what

Happens with the rest of the rotation but um the game in Charlotte another thing too I think that’s important for the Pelicans one of the reasons why that game was probably closer than expected or closer than the Pelicans really wanted it to be was it was 16 to eight

In turnovers the Pelicans had twice as many turnovers as Charlotte so if the Pelicans can reduce their turnovers and maybe create a lot more than eight from Charlotte I think maybe they’ll have a chance to make this a game that doesn’t come down to the end the way the game

Last month did in North Carolina let’s see how that happens because obviously I think uh getting off to the you know the four game home stand with it with the win would be pretty big here as well plus you look lots of eyes uh have been seeing the pals are maybe paying a

Little bit more attention football seasons come and gone when it comes to the Saints and obviously a lot of attentions on that college football the BS we’ve crowned a national championship and look we’ve been talking about it we had mine Adams on from Fox State a

Couple weeks ago to to talk about how big this 10 game package was with gray television and Jim the numbers came out this week they were magnificent I don’t know if that was was expected or not but a seven rating and I mean I’m not going

To get into you know what is it matter and everything I can just say say this the number compared to what they normally would sort of have it’s it’s more than triple it’s more than quadruple so lots of eyes at least turn in it stinks the way the game went in

Denver here as well but you got another one on Friday against Kevin Durant Devin Booker and uh and Bradley beeld coming up with the Suns but how big is that to be able to have a number like that yeah I mean that’s that was great I mean like

You said it was tough to start the schedule on the road against the defending NBA champion so yeah they didn’t win the game it would have been nice to get a victory in the debut of gray TV in Fox 8 but when they put the schedule together for Fox 8 and great TV

It definitely wasn’t with the idea in mind of how do we get them how do we get the Pelicans to win the most games on the network I mean they’re playing against some of the best teams in the NBA which is great in terms of drawing viewers and getting people to tune in

Obviously it was a tough way to start by playing on on the road against the defending NBA champ Champions but it was it was a definitely a good development to see the rating be as high as it was and it it does definitely demonstrate to a degree that I wasn’t even expecting or

Aware of of how much more of an audience you can get when you when you put it on a platform that is just available to that many more viewers I think one of the things too that that you look at more than anything too um Jim is

Interest right I mean a lot of that’s probably well let’s see what this team is all about or hey this so this is what the pelican are and things that nature look and I I do know somebody very close that works at you know the radio station

I do stuff with I mean it he doesn’t have you know cable or go to the other one so he he goes somewhere to watch games a lot of times and the ability to be able to just hey in his couch at his house be able to watch that it does help

Because he doesn’t get to see a ton of it right I mean he knows a lot of it from listening to my show and what I tell you about the Pelicans but it’s something else to see it something else to feel it and experience and I brought this up

We were talking about this specifically with meline and you I grew up a bulls fan obviously Jordan but because it was on WGN every single game I could watch the Chicago Bulls play so I in and and as far as how that attachment was sure

You see them play and all that but I never missed I never missed at 702 the player intros I I would crank the TV up and now from the I I waited you know I couldn’t wait I’m getting Goosebumps now thinking about it I’ve never been to Chicago Stadium I’ve never been to

United Center but I sure as heck watched it and I felt like it right that you see him do a dunk you’d see them get a three Rodman would cause a flagrant the crowd’s going nuts like that showed me what NBA basketball was sort of like the kiss at midcourt between Isaiah Thomas

And Magic I’ve never been to any of those Arenas the palace or all but you can get a Connect from watching and seeing that environment the player reactions what that plays is sort of like you know I think everyone is trying to wrap their arms around the the New Media

Environment Right Now TV the TV landscape is changing so much in terms of cable I feel like sometimes I forget how many people are like what you described in terms of the the guy that you know who doesn’t necessarily have cable TV I forget sometimes you know how

Many people have gone to just streaming and I mean a lot of my friends I talk to and I I say to them like people that live in other parts of the country like hey the Pelicans are going to be on TNT or or NBA TV tonight and they’re like

Well I don’t have cable TV anymore you just forget how many people that applies to now so I mean it’s something that everyone is trying to to to figure out like what is the best way to go about this and what’s the best way to determine how do we reach the most

People and it it is kind of funny in a way that in some ways it’s almost like an old it’s a return to old school where you know back in the 80s a lot of people before cable blew up people just had Fox and CBS and NBC and ABC and um a few

Other channels Jim I’m old enough to remember the cable box was a little knob and it had like 26 numbers on it you just turn the little number to it and it would be like that but that’s the point right and look it’s not just the pels

It’s not just us you’ve seen teams the Suns I think Sacramento is another one a couple of has similar package a lot of different teams are trying to figure out how to do that as well I’m glad you brought up ATL that’s part of great television as well they were doing that

So it’s other teams that are trying to figure out cuz here’s the main thing it’s good for everybody it’s good for business is good for the growth of the game the NBA wants it as well you have got to get your product in front of eyes

Of different you know places and look I I I you almost saw kind of almost the counter in the backlash like you know when we talk about the NFL when this weekend one of the playoff games was on you know a streaming service right peacock and you know people were like oh

But what did they do they put at half price for a year and got you to watch it and do it you know I had to do it because my kid loves trolls and trolls are on there so now I’m G I’m gonna get to hear every single trolls movie every

Single night but the point is you know a year and a half ago when they went to Amazon and you’re look at it’s like how how’s that going to happen and you do it and once you do it and you watch it it’s you know like at that moment you’re like

What how no and and then it it becomes very normal you know at the end of the day the leagues want to make money Players want to make more money so the TV packages are going to get more how do you increase that and by increasing that

Is by increasing ways to view your product and the NBA has been a very good League about listening to its players trying to grow the game at the same time being Innovative and trying to do different things right so I am very curious to see moving forward how

They’re going to up that on that next TV deal yeah and you know it’s funny because I feel feel like from a business standpoint and from a money-making standpoint and from any marketing people always want tangible ways that they can measure okay we did this and we got this

Amount of money or we got this amount of benefit from it but to me one of the things I really like about the gray TV and the Fox 8 thing is that it’s to me more of a long-term play like maybe you’re not making more money on Friday

Night because you have more viewers in that game or this week or this month but think about how many more people you’re going to be turn into Pelicans fans and what that’ll turn into as far as the fan base and people wanting to come to the

Games so um I think some of what you described the for example the peacock thing to me that strikes me as a very shortterm thing in terms of okay we have a deal with them and we’re getting money from them right now and we have this

Much more money as the NFL that we’re going to be able to put in our pockets and obviously that flows into the teams and the players and the coaches and everybody but it’s more of a immediate thing whereas I like the idea of what

Can we do so that 5 years from now we’re better off 10 years were better off and to me that is a lot of what the getting the games on Fox and getting the games on I don’t know how you describe it regular TV non-cable TV um I that’s one

Of the that’s the thing I think that that I like the most and I think will have kind of far-reaching benefits and again you can’t really measure that I I don’t know how to sit here and say like okay because this many more people watch the games that means this many more

People are going to attend games or pay for merchandise or whatever but you just know that by having 10 games that such a wider audience is going to be able to see that that has to help the franchise in a lot of ways down the road no doubt Jim we’ll see what happens

Here in the future I wish I could uh you know play with the little Chrystal ball or something like that I just had that little magic eight ball do you think that really is true just shake it a certain never been a believer in that never been a Believer maybe we need one

In here you know maybe we’ll do the magic eightball question of the week about that because we always like to do different things so let’s start with Pelicans player uh to look out for this week yeah the player to watch last week was herb Jones and I think that was a

Good pick because in um the Golden State game Steph Curry struggled had had a rough night the game before that dearn fox for Sacramento had one of his worst games of the season so herb did well defensively this week player to watch and again this week kind of really

Already started on Monday in the game against Dallas but for the Wednesday game against Charlotte and then the Friday game against Phoenix my player to watch is Brandon Ingram and part of that is because of the matchups with Miles Bridges and Kevin Durant obviously two forwards that the Pelicans are going to

Have to be concerned about in these two home games that they have this week but also just for sentimental reasons I figured I better pick a North Carolina native because the Pelicans have many of them and then they’re playing against the Charlotte Hornets tonight so I would

Think that a lot of friends and family and people who know Brandon Ingram will be tuned in back in the tarhill state tonight to watch that game so Brandon Ingram is the player to watch over these next two games against the Phoenix Suns and the Charlotte Hornets um in terms of

The player to week for or player of the week for week 12 that was Jordan Hawkins and I wasn’t really surprised when I put him out for fan vote that he ended up winning the poll um he he got 4 5% of the votes Jonas valent chunis got 42% of

The votes so also credit to Jonas for the week that he had but over those three games last week which was a win at Golden State a loss at Denver and a win at Dallas uh Jordan Hawkins averaged 16 points a game he was 16 for 28 on threes

Which is 50 or from the field which is 57% he was 10 for 16 on threes which is 59% and obviously he had his career high scoring with 34 points Saturday at Dallas so Jordan Hawkins was the player of the week for week 12 as voted by the

Fans and uh everyone just really happy to see him have that Breakout game which was so valuable for him to have his best game of the season in a in a night when the Pelicans were missing four of their best players and still able to pick up I

Think one of the more important victories of the Season against the Mavericks and one that you know we down the road we might look back at and say man it’s a really good thing that they got that one win of the two in Dallas oh I still can’t get over that

Last L Monday two players two players but 40 points anyway Minnesota OK uhok Oklahoma City Denver Clippers Mavericks Pelicans in six as we head into action tonight that’s the Western Conference top six Sacramento seven the suns are eight they are a game and a half behind

The Pelicans to give you an idea 22 and 18 playing a little bit better I don’t think surprisingly because Bradley Beal is is back 7 and three in their last 10 so they’re playing better there are the Jazz 9 and one in their last 10 games

Did you know that they’re nine and one I knew they were really hot they’ve won about five six in a row as well right now they still have a wi aren supposed to be trading everybody yeah that’s what everyone keeps trying to convince us of that they’re nine and one that’s

Incredible they’re they’re um they’re ninth and then they’re the Lakers which before their last win against Oklahoma City I don’t know if you saw it made me feel better on Monday I I told the that right before we we let him go and say I something to make you feel better uh

Since December 30th the Detroit Pistons and Lakers had the same amount of wins two then they beat OKC so they now have three it’s incredible though when you think about it that is a pretty crazy so they’re 10th the Rockets right there um nine games back along with the Lakers so

They’re kind of right there one game separates them I know it’s early but Golden State Memphis Portland San Antonio that’s the rest of your standing so what team to look at in the western confence yeah you know you mentioned um Sacramento which is in seventh place

Right now they were the team to watch in the Western Conference last week and I tell you uh what got the Pelicans into the top six as we record this on Wednesday morning was the kings were up 20 plus in the fourth quarter at Phoenix last night and still lost that game

There was some unbelievable stat that teams with a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter were something like zero in a thousand in 400 over the last year plus something like that so and at one point the had a 99.9% chance of winning the game in the fourth quarter still ended up losing it

So Kings were the team to watch they went one and three they also had a game right before that at Milwaukee on Sunday that they blew where they missed a bunch of free throws at the end and Damen Lillard made a 35-footer at the buzzer so that actually was very beneficial the

Week that the Kings had for the Pelicans because they went one and three they they did have a 25-point win at Charlotte but they all they also had losses uh 19point loss at Philly the onepoint loss in Milwaukee the two-point loss at Phoenix so Pelicans moved ahead

Of them the kings are a half game behind the Pelicans and it’s also kind of more than a half game because the Pelicans have the tiebreaker on them with the 40 season series Advantage with one more left um this week’s team to watch in the western conference is the Dallas

Mavericks who we’ve talked about a little bit already so far but they have an interesting slate because tonight Wednesday they’re at the lake Akers on ABC Friday they’re at Golden State and then Monday they have a home game against Boston so pelicans and Mavericks are both 24 and 17 going into this the

These games tonight Mavericks do have the tiebreaker based on division record and unfortunately I do think that it’s going to be very difficult for the Pelicans to surpass them in division record based on that the Mavs already have a better record than New Orleans right now and they have a couple more

Games against the Spurs that are you know most likely they’re going to win those games so we’re looking at a situation where it would be really nice for the Pelicans to not only get ahead of the Mavericks but get a little bit of a cushion so that it doesn’t come down

To the very end of the season where you’re saying like Okay that tiebreaker is going to cost us as far as positioning in the standings um so Mavericks are the team to keep an eye on over the next seven days uh two games like I said Ro two game Road Trip at

Lakers at Golden State then a home game against Boston so pretty difficult schedule and we’ll see how they do and we’ll see if the Pelicans while the Mavericks have that slate the Pelicans are only have home games over the next seven days we’ll see if when we come

Back here next Wednesday if I can sit here and say okay New Orleans has a little bit of a lead now on Dallas as opposed to being tied with them today and technically behind them based on the tiebreaker yep well we’ll see what takes place obviously because all these games

Matter man I know it sounds like it’s early it’s January but Jim the trade deadlines February 8th there’s going to be some teams that make some moves that’s something to kind of keep an eye on here as well to to see what takes place and and also now that we’ve turned

The calend into a new year it is a more important time so we need not not help but just additional reinforcements what’s going to be coming here on Fridays in the near future yeah we’re looking forward to this this is going to be kind of a new thing that we we do um

Basically my plan is and hopefully we’ll we’ll be able to stick to this maybe not exactly but close to it every two weeks we’re going to have a Pelicans radio Round Table we’re going to get a couple of our friends from the radio crew that

Will join Gus and I in the studio or on Zoom or however we need to track them down um between John Deer Todd graphin and Aaron Summers um and that’s the first one will be Friday so we’ll be basically be sitting down with them the theme of Friday’s episode is going to be

The halfway point even though I think at that point the team will have played uh 42 games and uh we we’ll kind of go through just our thoughts on the first half of the season and some of the the highlights and and some of the things to

Look forward to and look back on from the first 40 plus games of the Season all right sounds good that’s Jim ien offer give a follow over our next jimiken Hoffer of course pelicans.com all of the things that get you ready for game day is five things to watch and

Amongst other things plus a game recap always in there as well so go check that out as the pels take on Charlotte tonight the Suns on Friday and we’ll give you the rest of the schedule coming up here in a little bit Jazz mixed in

There we we’ll do all of that now now all of a sudden that game right we’re looking at the month you’re like okay that might be a breather no yeah yeah this home stand is this home stand is is a lot more difficult I think than if you

If you did look at that Utah game as like ah they’re struggling they started the season I don’t know six and 18 or something like that but man they’re the one of the hottest teams in the league right now so now you have Phoenix’s big three you have Utah maybe the hottest

Team in the league and then the home stand closes with OKC which we know that they’ve been playing at Elite level as well so yeah this home stand doesn’t have a lot of uh breathers in it and I think it is very important that you start off with a win against Charlotte

You know what shame on me I I knew that game was going to be seen big no matter what especially with the graph because the Jazz tend to have the Pal’s number for one way shape or form for whatever reason so that was already going to be a

Tough one now that they’ve gone nine and one at least right now in this stretch I mean I don’t see them losing five in a row because they’re I don’t know if they even have five games a row but so they’re going to be one of the hotter

Teams and as you mentioned OKC is number two in the West for season so it’s um there is no easy games this month is there right yeah and you know it’s interesting too with the Utah game someone you would have looked at me like I was totally insane if I had said this

A couple weeks ago but that game is important now for the Pelicans in terms of the season series in terms of you know the Utah’s only a few games behind the Pelicans so if Utah keeps playing the way that they are we’re going to start looking at them in the standings

As well as a team that we have to be concerned about so you’re one- two against Utah you need to win that game to even out the season series the way that you you already did against Dallas and Minnesota two teams that you’re finished with and finished two and two

Head-to-head against two and a half games yeah wow yeah Pelicans are five games beyond the t-wolves the Jazz are seven and a half and the CRA crazy thing about that is too two and a half and the Pelicans have been playing really well that just shows you how Utah has been

Playing the fact that New Orleans has won the vast majority of their games over the last few weeks and yet I think Utah’s probably cut two or three games off of the between those two squads during that time look we’ve said it we we don’t just say it to say it the

Western conference is a joke I mean you you have to play well every single night or you’re going to lose I mean it just legitimately is and I I think too to that point there’s a lot of teams in the west that are kind of in the tier

Beneath the Pelicans right now in terms of um Phoenix Lakers Warriors teams that had super high expectations that are looking at Utah like you come on guys you guys really had to get in the mix now for playing and make it that much harder doub so I mean there’s going to

Be if if Utah keeps playing the way that they are there are going to be a couple teams at the end of the season that say we had expectations that were maybe Championship or close to it and didn’t even get in the playin so I I kind of

Like I hope this doesn’t negatively affect the Pelicans anyway but I kind of like the fact that Utah has come up the way that they have because it’s make making the race for the plan seating and everything even that much better just make sure you don’t say that on Friday in front the

Graph in terms of in terms of POS yes yeah so nice one of teams that that get under his well again can’t beat him can’t beat him so and you know Todd already it’s going to be like that but to your point it is going to be

Interesting to look at because it it I you know what I’m going to save it for Friday I’m going to bring it up because I think it’s the one aspect of today’s NBA that I don’t know if it was advertently or inadvertently or whatever it is but I think the League’s not going

To do anything to change it I know there’s some some people that go get the three-point shot further back it’s too Rel too it has leveled the playing field I look at those standings I look at games it’s simple name me the team that shoots the most threes I’m going to say

90% of the time win look at Sunday look at Monday’s loss in Dallas they shot more threes than the Pelicans in a tight game period in the story we can talk free throws right we can talk that somebody have a bad game it the Jaz how are these teams that don’t have

Superstars in it they knock down threes period end of story I mean I just so I I’m interested I want to ask the radio crew that too as well do they think that the three-point shot because Todd used an analogy and I bet he brings it up he

He said in baseball the artificial surface leveled things because you don’t have to be a great Fielding team because the turf helps you it’s always going to be a true bounce it’s going to be easier to play defense than on a you know normal natural surface where you may get

A bad bounce some people cut the grass higher than the there’s different things on our official surface it’s always going to be the same and he said he saw it as he called baseball games with t Lane it even the field you so it you know it’s easier from that aspect of it

Plus makes teams faster you see small ball more you see a lot of different things I think the three-point shot has completely changed the NBA to where it’s more competitive that could be a good thing right you don’t have to go and do the the big star thing you can but we’ve

Seen that there’s a negative reaction to that well not reaction but there’s a negative as component to it where takes time to mix you got to hope that all works and you know again how you going to build your franchise is a little different so I’m curious to see that

Because the Jazz are literally not doing that but there they are being competitive so I’m going to ask him specifically why it is that because you have the Lakers and all these other teams that are trading teams every you know trade deadline to get in as many

Stars as possible here’s a team that’s not so it’s interesting no you’re right and I think spefic specific to the Pelicans too I think you mentioned this in a recent show and I thought that was a really good point in terms of the advantage that the Pelicans now have for

For several years we looked at it as a disadvantage that the Pelicans were were overturning their roster year after year and there was so much change so many changes that a lot of times you would start off the season poorly because you’re trying to figure things out it

Feels like the Pelicans are on the opposite side of that now where other teams like the Suns and some of these other squads that have made major changes it we’re in January and they’re still trying to figure things out so I agree I think that’s definitely something that has affected the NBA and

Has affected the season very directly this year Jim Mike offer as always I appreciate the time we’ll see you on Friday thanks guys yep when we come back we will talk about that and have some fun in the meantime don’t forget to like and follow the podcast let everybody

Else know about it here as well we’d appreciate you to do so as well G Cil that’s J mik and offer we’ll see you on Friday on the New Orleans Pelicans podcast thanks for listening to the New Orleans Pelicans podcast join us three times per week on pelicans.com the

Pelicans mobile app the iHeart Radio App or where you get your podcast and be sure to give Jim and Gus a follow on X at Jim Ian offer and gcat un17 we’ll see you next time right here on the New Orleans Pelicans podcast

On the latest New Orleans Pelicans Podcast from Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, Jim Eichenhofer and Gus Kattengell preview tonight’s game against the Charlotte Hornets as the Pelicans begin a 4-game homestand. The duo also recap the Pelicans’ recent 5-game road trip. Later, Jim gives us his Pelicans Player of the week and Western Conference team to keep an eye on.
#NBA #Pelicans #NewOrleansPelicans
Latest NBA News & Pelicans News @ https://www.pelicans.com

New Orleans Pelicans Roster
———————————————–
Jose Alvarado #15 Guard
Dyson Daniels #11 Guard
Kaiser Gates #12 Forward
Jordan Hawkins #24 Guard
Brandon Ingram #14 Forward
Herbert Jones #5 Forward
Kira Lewis Jr. #13 Guard
E.J. Liddell #32 Forward
Naji Marshall #8 Forward
CJ McCollum #3 Guard
Trey Murphy III #25 Guard
Larry Nance Jr. #22 Forward/Center
Matt Ryan #37 Forward
Dereon Seabron #0 Guard
Jonas Valanciunas #17 Center
Zion Williamson #1 Forward
Cody Zeller #44 Forward/Center

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