The Los Angeles Clippers play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center on Sunday.

The Pelicans (6-10) have been absolutely obliterated by the injury bug this season but they're slowly getting back to full health. The only key pieces missing now are Derrick Favors and Zion Williamson, with New Orleans winning three of their last four games heading into this matchup. That's the team many expected to see and it's way too early to count out a team like this with Favors and Williamson returns less than a month away. That would pair beautifully with the emergence of Brandon Ingram, who's been playing at an All-Star level the first month of the season. If he can do that while Jrue Holiday continues to ball out, this could be a scary team at full boar in the second half of the season.

The Clippers (11-5) had a ton of promise headed into the season and we're finally seeing the team that everyone has been waiting for. In fact, the last two games are the first ones that this team has had both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the lineup, with Los Angeles prevailing in both. While each game was decided in the final seconds, they came against good teams like the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets. What's scary is that neither guy has looked fully comfortable with one another yet and it's got to be horrifying for other teams that these two will only get better from here on out. That's evident when you see that Los Angeles has three of their losses with both of these guys out, showing just how valuable they are to this team. The 10-1 record at home is also a huge bonus but it does mean that a lot of road games are right around the corner.

In the first meeting between these teams this season, New Orleans prevailed, 132-127. That marked the Pelicans seventh win in their last nine meetings with the Clippers.