How the OKC Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans match up in NBA playoffs

Even with the Pelicans missing star forward Zion Williamson due to a hamstring injury, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the first round of the NBA playoffs will not be a cakewalk.

"There's a really good version of them without him, and there's a really good version of them with him," Daigneault said on Saturday. "I think they become a little bit more space oriented, pick-and-roll oriented on offense. Defensively ... they do a lot more switching, when he's not in the mix."

Here's the matchup breakdown between No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City and No. 8 New Orleans to open the NBA playoffs. Game 1 is at 8:30 p.m. Sunday in Paycom Center.

Point guard

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. CJ McCollum: SGA is a pace-changing, methodical, youthful on-ball enigma of an initiator. He’s seen virtually every coverage, though few (if any) have been legitimate solutions. McCollum remains the pick-and-roll savant and shooter that he built his reputation on.

New Orleans proposes an interesting challenge, though. Herb Jones, its All-Defense perimeter hound, has likely been the most effective defender on SGA league-wide. The MVP candidate has averaged 25 points, 7 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 44% from the field and 25% from 3 in three games against the Pelicans — a notable difference from the consistency he’s enjoyed during a historical season. In the teams’ last meeting, OKC staggered Gilgeous-Alexander’s minutes to coincidentally offset Jones’. It was later revealed that he was also playing through injury.

McCollum’s biggest issues these days are consistency, though he’s scored at least 25 points in nine of his last 10 games. New Orleans will lean on his navigation through more usage in Zion Williamson’s expected absence.

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Shooting guard

Lu Dort vs. Herb Jones: Two of the league’s most depended on perimeter defenders. Dort will endure screen after screen, likely tasked with handling McCollum and possibly Ingram. Jones will be tasked with limiting SGA, an improbable task for most. It’s a smaller wrinkle, but their play on the other side of the ball could be a difference maker. Dort is shooting a career-high 39.4% from 3. Jones is shooting 41.8% on a serious spike in attempts, making himself more than a threat (and someone OKC has to give attention to). Their shots could still end up high on each teams’ list of things to give up when prioritizing. Each will have to make some on-ball decisions. Shotmaking in key moments will matter.

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Small forward

Josh Giddey vs Brandon Ingram: With Zion Williamson’s absence, Ingram, who has battled recent injury, will be expected to carry much of the offensive load. The shotmaking, the matchup issues, and the on-ball presence he accounts for will decide if the Pelicans thrive or barely survive. After seemingly bouncing back from his early season struggles, Giddey has played with a different level of confidence. He’s scored in double figures in nine of his last 10 games, including a 25-point, nine-rebound game against the Pelicans in which he missed just four shots. How he responds to likely being helped away from will continuously be monitored.

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Power forward

Jalen Williams vs. Trey Murphy III: Williams has blossomed into one of the NBA’s best young players. With high-scoring fourth quarters, two-way play, and some shotmaking reminiscent of his All-NBA teammate. His efficiency also hasn’t been ideal in the season series, but he made nine of his 18 shots in OKC’s last matchup with the Pelicans, tasked with steadying the offense against a physical, switchable defense with Gilgeous-Alexander clearly hobbled. Murphy remains a key rotation player, tasked with being rangy, precise cutting and knocking down 3s. It’s a far cry from Williamson, an immovable force and engine, who’ll be reevaluated in a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. But Murphy should allow the Pelicans some defensive mobility.

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Center

Chet Holmgren vs. Jonas Valanciunas: Holmgren, outside of shooting 23.5% from deep in three games against the Pelicans, has mostly been who he’s been all season. He averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in that sample size, playing Valanciunas off the floor at times with a relatively functional handle and the spatial awareness to put Valanciunas in tough spots. Valanciunas, a grizzly of a 6-foot-11 center, has imposed his physicality on the Thunder in the low post the way he’s done most teams. With putbacks, with offensive rebounds. But New Orleans has leaned Larry Nance Jr. to close games given his edge in switching, ultimately outweighing any inside presence Valanciunas might have.

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Coaching

Mark Daigneault vs Willie Green: Daigneault’s entire Thunder tenure, and especially these past 82 games, have led to this moment. The experimentation with rotations and minutes, with lineups and sets. The Coach of the Year favorite, Daigneault has played every wacky and genius hand in order to prepare for the postseason. He’s assured himself that he’ll have the right cards to play at the right times, down to every minute detail. Green has headed one of the league’s best defenses, a combination of rangy depth and notable on-ball pests. Heading to the war with one of the league’s best offenses, he faces the ultimate test.

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Interior bench

Jaylin Williams & Kenrich Williams vs. Larry Nance Jr.: The factory of switchable, 6-foot-7 and above, lengthy wings runs through New Orleans. It’s made a deep rotation of actual big men obsolete. But Nance has carried weight as the plug for the lineups in which Valanciunas can’t defend. He’s also a notable lob threat. JWill, a situational big man, has only played in two of three games in the season series. He tallied three points and three turnovers total. His pairing with Holmgren has been beneficial at times, though its use doesn’t feel obvious isn’t this series. Kenrich Williams will be significant as a switchable defender. He’ll be available for small lineups, and his shooting should keep New Orleans honest.

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Perimeter bench

Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, Gordon Hayward vs. Naji Marshall, Jose Alvarado, Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins: Wiggins will serve as OKC’s ever-pluggable threat, available for bursts of offense and proper size. Joe and Hawkins will be the shooting threats that potentially bend each defense. Wallace and Alvarado will be the defensive irritants that increase tension. Marshall will be in that mix, too, though he could also lean into the mystery of rotational effectiveness that Hayward and Daniels will be facing.

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Experience

New kids on the block vs. The survivors: Valanciunas has played in every existing play-in tournament. New Orleans has had to scrap its way to the postseason several times. Surely the fight is there. But its last thrill came when, with a younger and previously more promising core, it gave Phoenix a mild scare some seasons back. The Thunder’s core hasn’t been there. It’s been the talk of the town. It feels as though Gilgeous-Alexander is as primed for success as any star who hasn’t been a postseason first option yet. All it can stand on is its identity.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans first-round NBA playoffs matchups