Battle of the North vs. the 504
The New Orleans Pelicans are taking their lone visit to the Toronto Raptors on Monday evening at 7:30 Eastern/6:30 p.m. Central Time. Gong into the matchup, the Raptors are 13-32 while the Pelicans are 12-34 as both teams sit in the bottom three of their respective conferences. Toronto has won five of their last six and the Pelicans have won five of eight, so both teams are finding their groove. Both teams will come out desperate, looking to keep their ship afloat.
Historically, the Raptors’ defense keyed in on Zion Williamson. They deny Williamson to drive left and surround him with defenders on every drive. Williamson has responded by forcing the issue and finishing through the wall of defenders. Simply put, the Raptors have no matchup for Williamson.
New Orleans’ defense is all about protecting the rim and they are ok with open perimeter shots. It’s a good matchup for them as the top two scorers on the Raptors, RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes, shoot 35 and 27 percent respectively from deep. They hon in on preventing driving lanes. The Pelicans like to tighten the gaps and force the basketball outside.
The Pelicans’ offense will continue to be free-flowing. CJ McCollum has a tendency to take shots early in the shot clock. Trey Murphy has made leaps, being a focal point in the offense and taking more shots. Williamson and Dejounte Murray are the top duo in the Pelicans’ pick-and-roll offense.
Toronto’s offense likes to hunt favorable matchups for Barrett and Barnes. The matchups allow them to isolate and create their own shots. The screen action will be vital for the Raptors to get the switch they want. The Pelicans and Raptors each have their favorable matchups, strengths, and weaknesses, expect a good one on Monday evening.
