NBA Opening Night Warriors vs Pelicans Preview: Projected Line-ups, Team News, TV info, Predictions
Only two of the last 10 NBA Champions crowned have lost their first NBA regular season game as defending champs on their home floor, just after the distribution of the championship rings.
The 2006 Champions Miami Heat lost in embarrassing fashion courtesy of a 38 point blowout loss at the hands of the Chicago Bulls and the 2011 Champions, the Dallas Mavericks went down in a rematch of their Finals contest to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
So while many believe receiving the rings can be a distraction and that it could blow the team’s attention off the game, the records state otherwise. So keeping that in mind defending champions the Golden State Warriors will look to begin their title defense with a positive win. Alas, it will come against weaker competition in the Pelicans who are banged up to say the least and have a depleted roster.
TV Telecast Info
Date & Time: 28th October 10:30 PM ET (29th October 8:00 AM IST)
Venue: Oracle Arena, Oakland.
Telecast: Sony SIX HD
Projected Line-ups:
Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (Point Guard), Klay Thompson (Shooting Guard), Harrison Barnes (Small Forward), Draymmond Green (Power Forward) and Andrew Bogut (Center).
New Orleans Pelicans: Jrue Holiday (Point Guard), Eric Gordon (Shooting Guard), Dante Cunningham (Small Forward), Anthony Davis (Power Forward) and Kendrick Perkins (Center).
Team News
Warriors: The reigning champions had a comfortable 3-4 record in the pre-season which did not particularly excite or worry anyone. One of the games they lost was a 35 point blowout at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers but the team took the floor without valuable assets in Curry, Andre Iguodala and Bogut.
They are a young team coming off a historic 66 win-season and they chose continuity this off-season. They only made the one change in the roster of acquiring 6’11” Jason Thompson from Sacramento after David Lee was traded to the Boston Celtics.
Looking to repeat this season the Warriors are fully fit and raring to go, in fact the only injury complication that has struck their squad is to their Head Coach Steve Kerr. He is ruled out for the opener having failed to fully recover from two off-season back surgeries, Assistant Coach Luke Walton will serve as interim Head Coach until his return.
Bogut had a scare when he was hit in the nose during a pre-season game with the Houston Rockets on October 15th but a successfull nasal surgery has cleared him for the season opener.
Golden State will certainly have a chip on their shoulder this season after recent comments from Clippers Head CoachDoc Rivers, claiming the team was lucky they didn’t play any of the top 2 teams in the West (San Antonio Spurs and the Clippers) en route to their championship.
Pelicans: Although the Pelicans have finished the pre-season 3-4 as well, things are worse than they seem. As many as six players, all from the team’s regular rotation are currently rehabbing from injuries or surgeries: Tyreke Evans (right knee surgery), Norris Cole (left ankle sprain), Omer Asik (right calf strain), Alexis Ajinca( right hamstring strain), Quincy Pondexter (left knee surgery) and Luke Babbit (left hamstring strain).
Davis averaging 24.6 points, 10 rebounds and 2.8 blocks during the pre-season has been the only up-side. Everybody was excited to see this team play better offense under new Head Coach and offensive genius Alvin Gentry but looks like that’s been put on hold.
On the back of the last season’s Playoff appearance, the Pelicans were expected to get better, register more than 45 wins however with the current scenario just recording those many wins would be an achievement even if they don’t make the Playoffs.
This could also be a litmus test of sorts for Davis. He could either succumb to the daily pressure of the team needing him to deliver more than he normally does or he steps up to the plate and elevates his game to another level.
Prediction:
Unless Davis goes into beast mode and decides to carry the team playing 40 minutes or more and registering some crazy numbers, there isn’t much excitement to this game. The pre-game ring ceremony would be more enjoyable to watch given the lop-sided game that is to follow.
There should be no doubt that the Warriors are going to win this game. Yes, like every champion they might stumble in the beginning but once they get the feel for the game and recover from the celebration they just had, the Pelicans are too depleted a roster to pose any threat to the defending champions.
If the injuries weren’t much of a reason to support the Warriors, remember the game goes down in the Oracle Arena, home of the Warriors where they had a record breaking 39-2 record breaking last season. Don’t blame the league for putting up such a one-sided game on opening night, nobody could have predicted the Pelicans suffering from as many injuries as they are. If you add the off-court story of Gentry returning to Oracle with a healthy New Orleans squad to face his old team where he was an assistant Coach, this game would have had a lot of excitement and feel to it.
Here’s a montage of the Warriors’ amazing ball movement last season, a huge reason why the depleted Pelicans stand no chance: