The Pelicans heated up on their latest road swing, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. New Orleans has gone 3-0 on its latest mini-road trip, and is currently riding a four-game win streak overall. The team returns home Tuesday, for a bout against Memphis.
“The guys are buying into what we are asking them to do,” head coach Willie Green said. “We are staying with it. We are trusting it. We are showing them the pictures when we watch film. We are getting on the floor and going over it again and again. Expressing to them how important it is to play with force, play with pace. Continue to share the ball. Just make the simple plays over and over again.”
New Orleans is currently 16-11 overall on the season. In the crowded West, that record is good for the conference’s seventh seed.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- All-NBA Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been performing at an MVP level this year, opines Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Doncic has steered Dallas to a 16-9 start on the year. His 32.7 points per game rank second in the league, and his 9.1 assists per game place him fourth. He was just named the West’s Player of the Week for his most recent four-game run, in which he averaged 36.8 PPG, 11.5 APG and 8.0 RPG while helped the Mavericks go 3-1.
- Mavericks guard Dante Exum has emerged as a critical running mate for Doncic this season, writes Tim Cato of The Athletic. “He knows how to play,” Dallas head coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s not judged on his scoring. He’s judged on doing the right thing.” Exum returned to the NBA this season after a two-year stint overseas. While starting the past six contests for Dallas, Exum has been averaging 30.8 minutes per night. Cato applauds the way Exum’s game fits in the Mavericks’ heliocentric offense around Doncic. “We try to attack personnel here (and) it’s working for us, it’s an advantage for us,” Exum said. “If it hasn’t worked for a couple plays, just getting the ball and saying, ‘Alright, getting guys connected, organized into an offense,’ that’s what I can do.”
- After departing a 103-96 loss to the Rockets on Friday with left hamstring tightness, Grizzlies reserve guard Derrick Rose is considered week-to-week going forward, reports Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). When healthy, Rose has been a solid bench contributor for an injury- and suspension-depleted Memphis club, averaging 9.1 PPG (.438/.344/.905 shooting), 3.5 APG and 2.0 RPG in just 18.9 MPG.
I am glad Exum has bounced back from all those injuries. His situation reminds me of Shaun Livingston, both came in with similar qualities and had injuries hurt their early years.