Tip-off: Friday, 9:35 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -4.5

The Pelicans will be looking to avoid a fifth straight loss when they host the Cavaliers on Friday.

The Cavaliers are coming off of a miserable performance, losing 97-85 as 8.5-point home favorites versus the Wizards on Tuesday. Cleveland has failed to cover in two straight games and three of its past four. The team has, however, won 13 of its past 18 games SU and will not come into Friday’s game lacking confidence. The Pelicans, meanwhile, have lost four straight games both SU and ATS and have been really disappointing to start the year. Perhaps a win over one of the league’s best teams is just what the doctor ordered for New Orleans, and it’s certainly possible. The Pelicans have gotten the better of the Cavaliers in this head-to-head series as of late, going 3-1 SU over the past three seasons. They are also a pretty impressive 20-6 SU and 16-10 ATS when hosting the Cavaliers since 1996. Three of the past four games played between the teams have gone Over the total. Both teams have some interesting trends working against them heading into this contest. Cleveland is 3-12 ATS in road games after playing two consecutive home games over the past two seasons and New Orleans is 2-10 ATS after a game where the team failed to cover the spread this season. The Cavaliers continue to be without PG Kyrie Irving (Knee) and SG Iman Shumpert (Wrist), who are out indefinitely. PG Jrue Holiday (Leg) is probable for the Pelicans, who are without C Kendrick Perkins (Pectoral) and SF Quincy Pondexter (Knee) indefinitely.

The Cavaliers will be looking to get right back into the win column after a disappointing performance against Washington last game. SF LeBron James (25.6 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.3 SPG) has averaged 22.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 7.0 APG over the past five contests, but he has not been very efficient. James has shot just 42.4% from the field and 19.0% from the outside over that span and will need to be a lot better moving forward. PF Kevin Love (19.2 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 2.3 APG) must be more consistent for the Cavaliers going forward as well. Love poured in 26 points with seven boards on 8-for-14 shooting from the field against the Nets on Saturday, but he was just 2-for-9 from the field with eight points and eight boards in the loss to the Wizards on Tuesday. He has a tough matchup with Anthony Davis in this game, but he must compete hard on both ends of the floor to make a big impact. The play of C Timofey Mozgov (7.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.9 BPG) could end up determining the outcome of this contest. Mozgov played just nine minutes against Washington and will need to be on the floor longer against New Orleans. He is this team’s best rim protector and that will be crucial against Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans on Friday.

The Pelicans have not yet played the way that people expected them to, but things could change very soon. This team is finally getting healthy and the Western Conference is having a bit of a down year, so a nice winning stretch could put them back in the hunt for the eighth seed. PF Anthony Davis (23.8 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.8 BPG) was excellent against the Rockets in Wednesday’s loss, putting up 29 points and adding 13 rebounds and two blocks as well. Davis will need to use his athleticism to punish a poor defending Kevin Love on Friday. He must also be ready to defend the rim when LeBron James comes barreling towards the basket. SF Tyreke Evans (15.0 PPG, 9.0 APG, 5.0 RPG) will also need to be ready to play on both ends of the floor in this one. Evans has played just two games this season, but he is doing a good job of distributing the basketball so far. He could see some extended time defending LeBron James and if he does, he will need to make James work hard for his shot attempts.