PREVIEW: NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 1: New Orleans Pelicans at Golden State Warriors

New Orleans Pelicans (0-0) at Golden State Warriors (0-0)

Tip-off: Saturday, April 18th, 2015 – 7:30PM PDT

Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA

TV: ABC | Radio: KNBR 680 AM

Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors #LetsGoWarriorsLive

Projected Starting Lineups:

Pelicans

Career Playoff Averages

PG: Eric Gordon (2014-15 regular season averages: 13.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.8 APG)

SG: Tyreke Evans (2014-15 regular season averages: 16.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 6.6 APG)

SF: Quincy Pondexter (6.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.6 APG)

PF: Anthony Davis (2014-15 regular season averages: 24.4 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.2 APG)

C: Omer Asik (4.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.5 APG)

Head Coach: Monty Williams (2-4, .333)

Warriors

Career Playoff Averages

PG: Stephen Curry (23.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 8.2 APG)

SG: Klay Thompson (15.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.5 APG)

SF: Harrison Barnes (13.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.2 APG)

PF: Draymond Green (8.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.1 APG)

C: Andrew Bogut (7.6 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.3 APG)

Head Coach: Steve Kerr (0-0, .000)

Last Times Out

LAST WARRIORS GAME: On Wednesday, 4/15/2015, the Warriors defeated the Nuggets, 133-126, as the bench unit helped Golden State become the tenth team in NBA history to reach 67 wins in a regular season.

LAST PELICANS GAME: On Wednesday, 4/15/2015, the Pelicans clinched the 8th and final seed in the Western Conference Playoffs with a 108-103 win at home against the Spurs.

LAST WARRIORS-PELICANS MATCHUP: On 4/7/2015, the Pelicans defeated the Warriors, 103-100, in New Orleans, as Golden State’s rally came up short and the Pelicans kept their playoff hopes alive at the time.

LAST WARRIORS-PELICANS MATCHUP AT ORACLE: On 3/20/2014, Golden State defeated New Orleans, 112-96, but the Pelicans were without Davis, Asik, Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday due to injuries.

Game Notes

• “The Warriors say forward David Lee will miss Saturday’s Game 1 vs. New Orleans with a strained lower back.” — Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle

• “Ognjen Kuzmic recalled” — Diamond Leung, Bay Area News Group

• “Golden State might be the deeper, more talented team. But the Pelicans present problems for anybody because of Anthony Davis, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2012 draft who is on the verge of stardom – if he’s not there already.
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  The 6-foot-10 power forward, who won a national title at Kentucky and a gold medal with Team USA at the 2012 London Olympics, practically carried the Pelicans into the playoffs. He finished with 31 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in the clinching win over the Spurs on Wednesday night.
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  Pelicans coach Monty Williams expects the 22-year-old Davis to show up the same way he has on every big stage in his career. And Davis doesn’t care that just about everybody outside of New Orleans is picking the Pelicans to lose.
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  ‘We love matchups like this,’ Davis said. ‘We’ve been in this situation the whole year. We’ve made it this far. We’re not looking to go home just yet.’
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  Here are some things to watch during the series:
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  DAVIS’ DIFFERENCE: The Warriors went 3-1 against the Pelicans this season, though Davis sat out two of Golden State’s wins. He was the NBA’s biggest difference-maker this season, leading the league with a 30.89 player efficiency rating, a complicated formula that calculates a player’s per-minute productivity. He averaged 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.” — Antonio Gonzalez, AP