Pistons vs. Pelicans preview: Quick trip to New Orleans

I can’t imagine the kind of work that goes into building the NBA schedule, but this is a weird one in the schedule. After playing at home against the Trail Blazers last night, the Pistons travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans, before returning home for games against the Suns and Warriors on Sunday and Monday. Why not just make this a West Coast trip?

The Pistons are in need of another game quickly to redeem themselves after the absolute stinker they had against Portland last night. Losing to a good team is one thing, but losing to a team that will probably be near the bottom of the standings while blowing a double digit lead is unacceptable.

Unfortunately for the Pistons, the Pelicans are fully healthy and playing like the team they were at the start of last season before their season imploded. This is going to be a tough game and it is one that they need after last night’s game.

Game Vitals

Where: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA
When: Thursday, November 2 at 8 pm EST
Watch: Bally Sports Detroit (maybe, I know they have been having some issues)
Odds: Pistons (+7.5)

Analysis

The Pelicans are off to a strong start with a healthy Zion Williamson. That is not a surprise, as they were at the top of the West last season when they had Zion healthy. That has always been the key for the Pelicans, as they have a team that is built to thrive when Zion plays.

Isaiah Stewart actually has the body to matchup with Zion Williamson defensively, but he doesn’t have the athleticism to do it. He probably draws the Zion matchup, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the team throws a bunch of different looks at him to slow him down.

The Pelicans overcame a 33-14 first quarter last night against the Thunder to win, which doesn’t bode well for the Pistons chances given that they were blown out by the Thunder on Monday. It is even worse given how poorly the Pistons finished last night’s loss against the Blazers.

It wasn’t just all the missed shots or hesitancy to shoot the ball, but after a solid game with minimal turnovers, things became unraveled in the 4th. The main culprit was Cade Cunningham, who obviously has to take on a lot of the load offensively while receiving a very unfriendly whistle, but some of the turnovers he had were head scratchers. Combine that with Shaedon Sharpe getting a foul call every time he drove to the basket, and you have a recipe for an epic collapse.

The Pistons will need Cade at his best if they want any shot at competing with the Pelicans.

The Pistons could be without Alec Burks and Jalen Duren while the Pelicans could be without Brandon Ingram, as all are game time decisions. All these players are important to their respective teams, but the Pelicans are far better equipped to handle the loss of Ingram than the Pistons are for Alec Burks or Duren. Burks, especially, is a huge loss if he doesn’t play as he has been the only consistent offensive player this season so far.

Duren is the anchor of the Pistons defense and will be needed to help contain Zion. James Wiseman will foul out in less than 10 minutes if he has to be relied on to help contain Zion.

Outside of Zion for the Pelicans they have CJ McCollum playing at a very high level to start the season. He has always been an underrated player and his ability to be the de facto point guard for the Pelicans is huge.

You also can’t forget Pistons killer, Jonas Valanciunas.

The Pelicans aren’t even as deep as they normally would be, as they are without Naji Marshall, Jose Alvarado, and Trey Murphy as well, which really shows you how impactful Zion Williamson is when he plays if the team is still 3-1.

As long as Zion plays, the Pelicans will always be tough to beat, but if the Pistons want a chance at beating them, now would be the time to do so while they do not have as much depth. Not getting my hopes up for it, but they badly need a bounce back after last night to make up for losing a game they should not have lost.