New Orleans Pelicans Opening Night: Can They Beat Paul George and The Pacers?

The New Orleans Pelicans–yes, that’s right, Pelicans–opening night is finally here. The Pelicans will tip off against a tough matchup, the Indiana Pacers, on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. ET in the New Orleans Arena.

This should be a very exciting battle. The Pelicans have a new name, a few new faces and are hoping for a bright future ahead. The Pacers are loaded with talent, depth and are hungry to take down the Miami Heat and contend for the title. This is a matchup of two very intriguing teams.

Injury Report 

According to Shane Young, Indiana Pacers writer for HoopsHabit.com, Danny Granger will be sidelined (calf) for the first three weeks of the regular season.

What To Watch For

I’m really looking forward to seeing how this new-look Pelicans offense matches up against one of the top defenses in the league and also how their three main guards–Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans–all mesh together. In addition, I’m very intrigued to see Anthony Davis, as well as see how Austin Rivers performs.

Players To Watch For

Can Anthony Davis translate his big preseason into the real thing? (NBA.com photo)

For New Orleans fans, all eyes will be on Anthony Davis. In preseason, Davis was outstanding and showed tremendous growth in his offensive game. I’m looking forward to seeing if he can translate those performances into opening night, as well as the rest of the season against tough opponents.

For Pacers fans, all eyes will be on Paul George. George had an incredible season last year and I’m excited to see how much his game has improved this offseason.

Prediction

While I believe this will be a close and competitive battle, Indiana is just overall the better team with great depth. With their excellent defense, and incredible talent, it will be just too much for the Pelicans to handle.

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