New Orleans (23 - 11)

Expert Pick
100% ····················>< 0%

Cleveland (27 - 7)

Contender and Pretender?


Not so fast! These two teams are set to collide in a matchup that should be much closer than the records would indicate. The Pelicans finished week one with a solid record of 3-1, only falling to contender hopeful in the Minnesota Timberwolves. GM Shams and the Cavs got off to a tough 0-4 start, with some bad luck affecting them in multiple games. The Cavs are a much better team than their record would indicate, losing the 4 games by a combined 26 points, including 1 15-point loss to the Utah Jazz, another title contender. Both teams will be hard pressed to come out of this one with a win. New Orleans Lineup: Luka Doncic Nickeil Alexander-Walker Garrison Mathews Julius Randle Rudy Gobert Cleveland Lineup: DeAaron Fox Bennedict Mathurin Malik Beasley Tristan Da Silva Andre Drummond Matchups: Luka Doncic vs DeAaron Fox Quite the star studded matchup at the PG position for the 2 teams, matchup up two of the NSL’s penultimate stars from a season ago. Luka Doncic has found his footing in year #2 in New Orleans, and he continues to lead the team to relevancy. Just a year removed from a competitive playoff showing, Luka will look to take his game to another level to continue where they left off. Fox has been good this season, averaging over 25 points per game, but it is an obvious notch down from his 2023-24 NSL play where he was a MVP finalist come seasons end. The Cavs will hope to recapture some of the magic that made Fox one of the leagues best just a short season ago. Edge- Luka Doncic Bennedict Mathurin vs Nickeil Alexander-Walker After being a young journeyman throughout the initial phase of his NSL career, Nickeil Alexander Walker has found a loving home in New Orleans. The team seems to value the role playing combo-guard above the rest. He hasn’t been great, but also not bad, in providing a lot of what New Orleans need alongside scoring threats in Doncic and Randle. Mathurin had a great NSL preseason, and has been going well early on in the NBA this season, but he has been a bit of a let down through 1 week for the Cavs. Mathurin is scoring only 8.5 points per game, shooting 41% from the field, and only 27% from 3. Surely the Cavs are wanting more from the score first guard who made his Cleveland debut just last week. Edge- Mathurin Malik Beasley vs Garrison Matthews Anybody ever seen the film “American Sniper”, or perhaps, “Enemy at the Gates”. Well, you can give those a watch to get the gist of this matchup. Both guys are flamethrowers, constantly looking for the smallest of windows to hoist up their shots. Garrison Matthews received only mop-up minutes in week 1, so there’s no play to go off-of, however, I certainly expect him to notch a triple or two in this game and be a positive contribution to the spacing that Luka craves. Beasley on the other hand was one of the few brights spots for the Cavs in a dismal week one. Beasley finished week 1 averaging 17.3 points, on 42% shooting from deep, on 9.5 attempts per game. Those numbers are infinitely higher than anything Beasley has contributed to this point in his NSL career, and if he can keep those numbers up, he'll be one of the more impactful free agent signings from the 2024 period. Edge- Beasley Tristan De Silva vs Juluis Randle This is likely the most lopsided matchup in the game, and the matchup in which Leeroy hopes can give his team the competitive advantage. Randle is averaging almost 20 points per game through 1 week, while also providing 1.3 steals per game. He’s got a rock solid +/- of 9.8. He’s been just what New Orleans was expecting when they made the deal for him. Da Silva is a much more unproven product in the NSL. He’s received some early minutes in the NBA with the Magic, and done a lot with the opportunity given, but the expectation is that his NSL counterpart won’t be much of a difference maker barring major change. Edge- Randle Andre Drummond vs Rudy Gobert The battle of the big man, and this one is a throwback for the ages. It seems like these two players were best situation for professional basketball in the 90’s, or perhaps even before. Both guys pull down a ton of rebounds, exactly what their team is expecting from them, and both guys contribute defensively. Gobert is currently averaging over 2 blocks and 2 steals per game, making for one of the NSL’s penultimate defensive forces, while Drummond is averaging a respectable 1 steal, and 1.5 blocks per game. Drummond scoring is a bit down from season’s past, averaging just around 6 points per contest. The number’s don’t mean much in this one though, as both guys are unlikely to see an NSL caliber big on the level of their foe very often in the NSL. Edge- Gobert Bench: Both teams have very impactful NSL players coming off their benches. For Cleveland Anfernee Simons and Onyeka Okongwu should both come in a make an impact away from the starting unit. Simons can fill it up with the best of them in the NSL, and Okongwu can do a bit of everything as a big man who anchored one of the leagues best teams just a year ago in OKC. For New Orleans, the bench is run by 6^th man extraordinaire, Russell Westbrook, who can do it all on the NSL hardwood. Torrey Craig, Tre Mann, and Mason Plumlee all bring plus skillsets as well in specific area’s like defense, scoring/playmaking, and rebounding that can help the Pelican’s win. My edge goes to the Cavs on the benches, but it’s a narrow one.

Not so fast!

These two teams are set to collide in a matchup that should be much closer than the records would indicate. The Pelicans finished week one with a solid record of 3-1, only falling to contender hopeful in the Minnesota Timberwolves. GM Shams and the Cavs got off to a tough 0-4 start, with some bad luck affecting them in multiple games. The Cavs are a much better team than their record would indicate, losing the 4 games by a combined 26 points, including 1 15-point loss to the Utah Jazz, another title contender. Both teams will be hard pressed to come out of this one with a win.

New Orleans Lineup:

Luka Doncic

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Garrison Mathews

Julius Randle

Rudy Gobert

Cleveland Lineup:

DeAaron Fox

Matchups:

Luka Doncic vs DeAaron Fox

Quite the star studded matchup at the PG position for the 2 teams, matchup up two of the NSL’s penultimate stars from a season ago. Luka Doncic has found his footing in year #2 in New Orleans, and he continues to lead the team to relevancy. Just a year removed from a competitive playoff showing, Luka will look to take his game to another level to continue where they left off. Fox has been good this season, averaging over 25 points per game, but it is an obvious notch down from his 2023-24 NSL play where he was a MVP finalist come seasons end. The Cavs will hope to recapture some of the magic that made Fox one of the leagues best just a short season ago.

Edge- Luka Doncic

Bennedict Mathurin vs Nickeil Alexander-Walker

After being a young journeyman throughout the initial phase of his NSL career, Nickeil Alexander Walker has found a loving home in New Orleans. The team seems to value the role playing combo-guard above the rest. He hasn’t been great, but also not bad, in providing a lot of what New Orleans need alongside scoring threats in Doncic and Randle. Mathurin had a great NSL preseason, and has been going well early on in the NBA this season, but he has been a bit of a let down through 1 week for the Cavs. Mathurin is scoring only 8.5 points per game, shooting 41% from the field, and only 27% from 3. Surely the Cavs are wanting more from the score first guard who made his Cleveland debut just last week.

Edge- Mathurin

Malik Beasley vs Garrison Matthews

Anybody ever seen the film “American Sniper”, or perhaps, “Enemy at the Gates”. Well, you can give those a watch to get the gist of this matchup. Both guys are flamethrowers, constantly looking for the smallest of windows to hoist up their shots. Garrison Matthews received only mop-up minutes in week 1, so there’s no play to go off-of, however, I certainly expect him to notch a triple or two in this game and be a positive contribution to the spacing that Luka craves. Beasley on the other hand was one of the few brights spots for the Cavs in a dismal week one. Beasley finished week 1 averaging 17.3 points, on 42% shooting from deep, on 9.5 attempts per game. Those numbers are infinitely higher than anything Beasley has contributed to this point in his NSL career, and if he can keep those numbers up, he'll be one of the more impactful free agent signings from the 2024 period.

Edge- Beasley

Tristan De Silva vs Juluis Randle

This is likely the most lopsided matchup in the game, and the matchup in which Leeroy hopes can give his team the competitive advantage. Randle is averaging almost 20 points per game through 1 week, while also providing 1.3 steals per game. He’s got a rock solid +/- of 9.8. He’s been just what New Orleans was expecting when they made the deal for him. Da Silva is a much more unproven product in the NSL. He’s received some early minutes in the NBA with the Magic, and done a lot with the opportunity given, but the expectation is that his NSL counterpart won’t be much of a difference maker barring major change.

Edge- Randle

Andre Drummond vs Rudy Gobert

The battle of the big man, and this one is a throwback for the ages. It seems like these two players were best situation for professional basketball in the 90’s, or perhaps even before. Both guys pull down a ton of rebounds, exactly what their team is expecting from them, and both guys contribute defensively. Gobert is currently averaging over 2 blocks and 2 steals per game, making for one of the NSL’s penultimate defensive forces, while Drummond is averaging a respectable 1 steal, and 1.5 blocks per game. Drummond scoring is a bit down from season’s past, averaging just around 6 points per contest. The number’s don’t mean much in this one though, as both guys are unlikely to see an NSL caliber big on the level of their foe very often in the NSL.

Edge- Gobert

Bench:

Both teams have very impactful NSL players coming off their benches. For Cleveland Anfernee Simons and Onyeka Okongwu should both come in a make an impact away from the starting unit. Simons can fill it up with the best of them in the NSL, and Okongwu can do a bit of everything as a big man who anchored one of the leagues best teams just a year ago in OKC. For New Orleans, the bench is run by 6^th man extraordinaire, Russell Westbrook, who can do it all on the NSL hardwood. Torrey Craig, Tre Mann, and Mason Plumlee all bring plus skillsets as well in specific area’s like defense, scoring/playmaking, and rebounding that can help the Pelican’s win. My edge goes to the Cavs on the benches, but it’s a narrow one.

Pelicans Star

Julius Randle
Randle get's a good draw here. With Barnes down to injury, he will likely be guarded by Tristan Da Silva in this one. No slight to the young wing/big, but he doesn't have the polish on either end to hold his own in this matchup...or so we think? Pels would love a big game from Randle in the matchup that be the most advantageous for them in this one.

PPG 24.2

RPG 6.5

APG 3.2

SPG 0.6

BPG 0.3

FPG 1.3

TPG 1.4

PPG 32.9

RPG 3.4

APG 4.9

SPG 1.1

BPG 0.4

FPG 2.2

TPG 1.7

Cavaliers Star

DeAaron Fox
The Cavs will need a 2023-24 game out of Fox to pull this one out without Scottie Barnes in play. Fox was one of the leagues best scorers just a season ago, and many around the league believe it's a when, not an if, as to when he get's it going at his old clip. The Cavs hope it is here.

X-Factor
I think the X-Factor in this game will be Juluis Randle, and how the Cavs manage defending him. Luka Doncic is going to get his points surely, but can the Cavs limit Randle opportunities to score in this one, especially with Scottie Barnes missing the contest. Surely, the Cavs would love to have their do-it all, premiere defender to take the assignment in this one, but without Barnes out there, the task will fall to Da Silva, Drummond, and the bench, which is a tall ask.

X-Factor

I think the X-Factor in this game will be Juluis Randle, and how the Cavs manage defending him. Luka Doncic is going to get his points surely, but can the Cavs limit Randle opportunities to score in this one, especially with Scottie Barnes missing the contest. Surely, the Cavs would love to have their do-it all, premiere defender to take the assignment in this one, but without Barnes out there, the task will fall to Da Silva, Drummond, and the bench, which is a tall ask.

Injury Report
Injured Players: DeAndre Hunter (Knee/Personal) - 10 NBA Games missed this season Scottie Barnes (Eye) - 11 NBA Games missed this season Herbert Jones (Shoulder) - 10 NBA Games missed this season	Injured Players: Aaron Gordon (Calf) - 6 NBA Games missed this season Grayson Allen (Achilles/Hamstring) - 4 NBA Games missed this season

Prediction
Had Barnes been available in this one, perhaps the outcome would be different, but with him out, I give the edge to the Pelicans. Even if the Cavs manage to limit the damage done by Barnes, I still give Luka the edge in the matchup vs Fox, and Luka alone could be enough to see the Pelicans notch the W here.

	MEM	32
	ATL	38

	PHI	118
	DET	114

	DEN	117
	SAC	93

	GS	81
	NO	101

	SA	113
	DAL	91