The Cavaliers look to break “New Orleans Curse” on Friday

This Friday, on ESPN, the Cleveland Cavaliers head down to the Smoothie King Center in the “Big Easy” to take on the New Orleans Pelicans for the first night of a road-home back-to-back. Cleveland hosts Chicago back home on Saturday.

There have been certain arenas across the NBA that give the Cavaliers nightmares, and Smoothie King Center seems like it is surrounded by a voodoo curse that Cleveland cannot break. Is this the season where the Cavs sleigh their “Big Easy” demons?

When Cleveland and New Orleans meet on Friday, it will be the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams. Their first matchup came at home on the heels of the Cavs’ second five-game, Western Conference road trip of the season while the Pels were playing the final game of a five-game road trip.

In the first matchup between the Pelicans and Cavaliers, New Orleans seemed to be in control for the majority of the game. They were up by as much as twelve in the first half and heading into the fourth quarter, the Pelicans were ahead 81-78. But, the Cavs found their mojo as they outscored the Pels 16-2 to begin the final 12 minutes, which allowed Cleveland to defeat New Orleans 113-103 on MLK Day.

The Cavaliers head to New Orleans on Friday hoping to break a depressing streak.

If the Cavaliers defeat the Pelicans in the Big Easy on Friday, it will be the first time since the 2009-10 season, when New Orleans still went by the Hornets. The Cavaliers also swept the then Hornets in the 2005-06 season, when they were the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.

Ever since their 105-92 victory in New Orleans on March 24, 2010, Smoothie King Center has become a house of horrors for the Cavaliers. No matter what the Cavs roster has looked like, they have found it difficult to win in the Big Easy.

The Pelicans narrowly escaped last year’s meeting in Louisiana 108-104, which was their seventh win in a row against the Cavaliers. However, many of the recent games between Cleveland and New Orleans down in the Bayou have been blowouts. The Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers 116-82 in 2020-21, 116-104 in 2019-20, 140-124 in 2018-19, and 123-101 in 2017-18.

There have been some games in the past few seasons where it looked like the Cavs might actually get out of the Bayou with the win, but the Hornets/Pelicans found ways to grab victories. During the 2016-17 season, the Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers 124-122 despite Kyrie coming up a point shy of 50. Terrance Jones came out of nowhere as he scored 36 points for the Pelicans, and Jrue Holiday contributed 33 for NO.

During the Cavs championship season in 2015-16, the Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers 114-108 in OT. In 2014-15, the Cavs fell to the Pelicans 119-114 even though LeBron scored 41. Anthony Davis exited the game six and a half minutes in, but New Orleans got 30 points from Ryan Anderson and 31 points from Tyreke Evans to fuel their victory. In 2013-14, the Pelicans held off the Cavaliers 104-100.

After back-to-back wins against the Pacers and Wizards in Indianapolis and Washington to begin this week, the Cavaliers are 12-16 on the road. In order for the Cavs to be considered a legit playoff threat, or even a championship threat this season or in the near future, they need to show that they can win games on the road.

It would be a big confidence booster for the Cavs to go into NO and defeat the Pelicans. The primary reason is that it would get them closer to a .500 record away from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Following their game in New Orleans, Cleveland’s next road game will be in Philadelphia on February 15th against the rival 76ers, which could be a massive showdown because the Cavs are within striking distance of the Sixers for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The secondary reason is that it would get the proverbial “New Orleans Monkey” off of their back. The 2022-23 Cavaliers would be able to say that they went into New Orleans and won.

Should the Cavaliers defeat the Pelicans in New Orleans, it would end another long losing streak in a road arena. Before their 111-85 victory against the Heat in Miami on December 1, 2021, the Cavs had lost 20 consecutive games at Miami Dade Arena, formally known as FTX Arena and American Airlines Arena.

Prior to their 114-101 win in Portland on January 7, 2022, the Cavaliers hadn’t beaten the Blazers in Oregon since January 16, 2013. After a 119-113 victory in Portland on January 12, the Cavs won their second consecutive game up in the Pacific Northwest which should also include the Seattle SuperSonics. The Cavaliers defeated the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on January 12, 2022, 111-91. Before that, Cleveland’s last win in Utah was January 10, 2014. The Cavs should’ve made it two straight victories in Utah, but the Jazz spoiled Donovan Mitchell’s return to SLC with a 116-114 victory on January 10th.

It’s interesting that the majority of the arenas that the Cavaliers are struggling to get out of with victories are in the Western Conference. However, because the Cavaliers play only one road game against each of those teams, it means they have fewer opportunities to end their losing streaks in those respective cities.

For some reason, there have been certain arenas and cities where the demons start circling when the Cleveland Cavaliers come to town; it’s a similar situation to what happens when the Browns travel down to Acrisure Stadium, formerly known as Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA to take on the Steelers.

The Cavaliers have the opportunity on Friday to go into a city which is known for voodoo, magic, and sorcery, and break the spell by finally leaving New Orleans with a win.