In a game that could be only characterized as devastatingly ugly, the Pelicans edged the Washington Wizards 93-89 to remain undefeated in the preseason and in their time as the Pelicans.  The Pelicans recovered from a weak 3rd quarter and outscored Washington by 10 in the fourth quarter behind some strong play by Brian Roberts and Jrue Holiday and a timely stop from Anthony Davis.

I was unable to watch the game, as there was no stream available.. so as I sat in my pajamas listening to the radio like a 1920s Yankees fan, I tried to picture what was going on. Luckily, I was aided by the strongest performance of the night, as Sean Kelley was broadcasting the game live. So bear with me while I take a look at statistics and explain what I heard.

Numbers

53: the number of turnovers from both teams

-The Wizards and Pelicans came to an agreement before the game and decided to pad their defensive stats. Although it’s disturbing for the Pelicans to have 25 turnovers, they are also making a habit of forcing teams into bad decisions this preseason. I hope this carries into the regular season. This may be a sign that the added athleticism from the new personnel has aided the defense in being disruptive. Time will tell.

19 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 8 turnovers: Jrue’s statline

-Both good and bad here. Jrue helped on the boards tonight and was more aggressive than he has been in previous games. I expect this to be a trend in the season: Jrue has reiterated time and time again that he is not concerned with statistics, only with filling in where the team needs him.  Tonight, it was by attacking, distributing, and grabbing rebounds. The Pelicans’ roster features few plus rebounders and will probably need to compensate via team rebounding. The 8 turnovers are not desirable but are likely a function of Jrue being forced to create too much tonight.

2: Consecutive games in which Davis has made a big-time play on defense to close the game.

He blocked a shot with 11.9 seconds left to help the Pelicans close out their 6th preseason win and also blocked the final shot in the Oklahoma City game the other night. Davis struggled to stay out of foul trouble tonight but came up big when it counted.

23: Minutes for Gordon

Gordon played again tonight and recorded 16 points in his brief stint. He was 3 for 6 from deep. Another solid outing for Gordon.

10: my excitement on a scale of 1 to 10 when Monty Williams put in a lineup of Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Anthony Morrow, Ryan Anderson, and Anthony Davis.

I predicted that this would be our most potent offensive lineup and Monty put them in together for  a stint during the first half and the last possession of the first half. This lineup gives Jrue and Gordon an excellent pick and roll partner in Davis and 2 phenomenal floor-spacers in Ryan Anderson and Anthony Morrow. I love the idea of this lineup on offense, but the defense might have some serious problems. Still, if there’s one possession left, I would love for Monty to trot out these 5 players.

The Pelicans will have their first game in New Orleans on Wednesday versus the defending champion Miami Heat. Come out to the game and show your support!