Pelicans [6-5 ] at Raptors [6-4]: Preview & keys to victory

The Raptors face a resurgent Pelicans squad tonight. Led by DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, the NBA’s fourth- and sixth-best scorers, the Pelicans are finally taking flight.

The NBA’s worst named team (and this in a league which includes the Utah Jazz!) visit the Air Canada Centre. New Orleans’s team is named after the Louisiana state bird, which is supposed to legitimize “Pelicans” but doesn’t for me. Is cheering for a Pelican any sillier than cheering for a Raptor? Let’s move on.

The Pels are built around the skills of two very tall men, despite this being the era of small-ball. Anthony Davis was the #1 selection in the 2012 draft, and has quickly entered the ranks of the NBA’s elite. He has a point guard’s skills in a power forward’s body, and is perhaps the league’s best two-player not named Kawhi Leonard or Stephen Curry.

CHICAGO, IL – NOVEMBER 4: DeMarcus Cousins /

DeMarcus Cousins was set free of the Sacramento Kings’ perpetual dysfunction by way of trade last season. He’s shed some weight, though the floor still rumbles when he runs.

We like our backcourt, they like their frontcourt. These two beasts are averaging over 58 points per game [PG] between them, and you won’t hear me saying that’s not sustainable.

Jrue Holiday starts at point guard, and he’s a handy second-tier player. Their other swingmen, E’twaun Moore and Dante Cunningham, are facilitators and defenders with little impact on the Pelicans’ scoring.

Tonight’s game is the fourth and last on New Orleans’ road trip. They have won the first three, so clearly are rounding into form.

3 keys to Raptors victory

Get up in Cousins’ face, all the time. This guy is a defender’s nightmare; he’s huge, yet has excellent post moves, shooting range to beyond the arc, and racks up way more assists than you’d expect from a throwback center. However, he’s easy to upset, and regularly leads the league in technical fouls. He also has committed 4.7 turnovers PG so far. Make his life miserable, get him angry…put him off his game.
Keep Davis under some degree of control. There aren’t many Raptors with the footspeed and size to stick with Unibrow. Pascal Siakam should get a chance to defend him. I’m worried Serge Ibaka will get called for 2 fouls in 5 minutes and need to sit down. You can be sure the Pelicans will try to make that happen by running iso plays for Davis.
Play Holiday loose. He’s got many fine qualities at the point, but deep shooting isn’t one of them (21.4% in 11 games). We don’t want him slashing in the paint, as Cousins and Davis will pin our shotblockers to offer an easy path to the hoop.

Prediction

The Raptors will require a major contribution from the bench to pull out a win. Our starters could conceivably all be minus for the game. We’ve got more players who can get 8 to 12 points than they do.

Raptors 103 – Pelicans 98

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