Two Western Conference teams that met last season in the first round are going to play against each other on Friday night - Phoenix Suns against New Orleans Pelicans. After 4 games played, the Suns have 3 wins and 1 loss and the same record is for the Pelicans. If we look at the opponents, Phoenix had a tougher schedule as they played against the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, Clippers and Warriors while New Orleans met the Nets, Hornets, Jazz and Mavericks.

While Phoenix dominated the Warriors, the Pelicans had a surprising win against the Mavericks because Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones weren't playing. As of right now, when I'm writing this prediction, Ingram is officially listed as out, while Williamson, Jones, CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado are out. If Williamson and McCollum won't play, Phoenix is going to be a massive favorite but in any situation, they should be favorites.

The Suns have started the season great and they are in line for another great regular season. Devin Booker leads the Suns in points with 32.5 per game as he is off to a scorching hot start, shooting 53% from the field and 48% from behind the arc. The Suns have beaten the Clippers and Warriors by a combined 46 points in their past two games. When they get clicking, they can run a team out of the building, especially at home. Last season, the Suns shot a league-best 48.5% from the field. Phoenix is scoring 116 points per game over its first four games and should have no trouble filling it up against an injured Pelicans team.

New Orleans relies on offense. The Pelicans is 3rd highest scoring team this season (Suns - 11th) and 2nd offensive rating (Suns - 7th) but the biggest difference is on the defensive end. Phoenix allows 3rd lowest points (Pelicans - 18th) and is 3rd in defensive rating (Pelicans - 16th). It's going to be 2nd time this season that the Pelicans will play against TOP10 defense and in the 1st game, New Orleans lost to Utah in overtime in front of the home fans.

Last season the Pelicans struggled on the road as they had 19 wins and 26 losses. Phoenix was 2nd best home team and the Suns have won 4 out of the last 6 home against New Orleans by an average of 15.8 points. Phoenix is clearly the favorite in this matchup and should get a very comfortable victory.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

两支上赛季在首轮相遇的西部球队将在周五晚上对决——菲尼克斯太阳队对阵新奥尔良鹈鹕队。4场比赛过后，太阳取得了3胜1负的战绩，鹈鹕也取得了同样的战绩。如果我们看看对手，太阳的赛程更艰难，因为他们要面对小牛、开拓者、快船和勇士，而新奥尔良则要面对篮网、黄蜂、爵士和小牛队。

当太阳主宰勇士时，鹈鹕出人意料地战胜了小牛，因为锡安·威廉姆森、布兰登·英格拉姆和赫伯·琼斯都没有上场。到目前为止，当我写这篇预测的时候，英格拉姆已经被正式列为缺阵，而威廉姆森、琼斯、CJ·麦科勒姆和何塞·阿尔瓦拉多也已经缺阵。如果威廉姆森和麦科勒姆不参加比赛，太阳将是最受欢迎的球队，但在任何情况下，他们应该是最受欢迎的球队。

太阳队本赛季开局出色，他们有望迎来又一个出色的常规赛。德文·布克以场均32.5分领跑太阳队，他的开局火热无比，投篮命中率53%，三分线外命中率48%。在过去的两场比赛中，太阳一共击败了快船和勇士46分。当他们开始行动时，他们可以把一个团队带出大楼，尤其是在家里。上个赛季，太阳队的投篮命中率达到了联盟最高的48.5%。太阳在前四场比赛场均能得到116分，面对伤病缠身的鹈鹕队，他们应该能毫不费力地补上这一数据。

新奥尔良依靠的是进攻。鹈鹕本赛季得分排名第三(太阳排名第11)，进攻效率排名第二(太阳排名第7)，但最大的区别是在防守端。太阳的得分倒数第三(鹈鹕排名第18)，防守效率排名第三(鹈鹕排名第16)。这将是鹈鹕本赛季第二次面对排名前十的防守，而在第一场比赛中，鹈鹕在主场球迷面前在加时赛中输给了爵士。

上赛季鹈鹕在客场遭遇了19胜26负。太阳队是第二好的主场球队，在最近6个主场对阵新奥尔良的比赛中，太阳队赢了4场，平均领先15.8分。太阳在这场比赛中显然是最受欢迎的，应该会很轻松地获得胜利。