Stephen Nover

Tampa Bay rookie Shane McClanahan has electric stuff. He's shown that through two big league starts. But how is his command? How is his control? How much stamina does he have? 

The oddsmaker has overcompensated for the Pelicans not having injured Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Granted those are New Orleans' two best players. 

 The Hornets, however, have five rotation players either out or questionable. So they're dealing with injuries, too.  Not only are the Pelicans in must-win mode needing to move up one spot to qualify for the play-in tournament, but the intensity for this matchup is increased because it's a meeting of the Ball brothers, Lonzo and LeMelo. The Pelicans hung in against a much tougher foe than the Hornets this past Friday, losing to the 76ers on the road, 109-107, despite not having Williamson and Ingram.  That was the fifth straight road game the Pelicans have covered. They also are 4-0 ATS during their past four visits to Charlotte.

The Knicks are coming off an embarrassing, 128-105, loss to the Suns from Friday night. That was the third-most points the Knicks have surrendered during regulation. New York is the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA in scoring defensive, defensive field goal percentage and 3-point defense. The Knicks should be highly motivated here and for them that starts and ends with defense. 

 The Clippers rank fifth defensively giving up 108 points per game. That number goes down to 106 a game counting just the last seven contests. The Knicks rank 26th in scoring.  Two other factors for why this should be a lower-scoring game than the oddsmaker envisions: Pace and game time. The Knicks play at the slowest tempo in the NBA. The Clippers have played at the slowest pace in the league during the last five games. This is an early start time, too. So the shooting rhythm could be off. 
  

The Blackhawks showed a little life pulling out a 2-1 overtime road win against Carolina this past Thursday in their last game.