It was a game the New Orleans Pelicans were supposed to win, and they did so. Though this was the second game in as many nights and on the road, the Pelicans started strong and were able to build, hold, and grow a lead against the outmatched Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans move to 9-10 while the Lakers fall to 5-16.
The story of the game is really just that the Lakers entered and left the game with the worst defense in the NBA. As such, this win . . . other than a tick in the W column . . . is nothing more than a curio piece except in some very limited ways. The team’s improved passing (28 assists and 43 made shots), the team’s improved shooting (43 of 83 from the field), or anything else should just be set aside, chalked up to stats against a bad team.
One way the team actually benefited was that the newly signed players got time on the court with their team. Mekel had 4 assists in his first 4 minutes, then had no more, but he also did not register a turnover. Cunningham had 7 points on 6 shots, 6 rebounds, and 3 fouls.
Also, and this is likely a measure of just how poor Los Angeles was playing, Ajinca played for 10 minutes, had 10 points . . . and just 1 foul. He scored on the just 4 shot attempts, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnover. Still, good work for Ajinca. Let’s hope he can keep it up.
To answer the questions posed at the start of the game:
- Kobe had 14 points on 18 shots, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers
- Evans went just 3 of 9 on field goals, but managed 11 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 turnovers
- Babbitt had a good showing in his 20 minutes, sinking 2 of 4 three-point shots and adding 5 rebounds
My favorite play of the night was a wide open Babbitt 3 with an Evans assist. It was relatively early in the clock, but it shows just why a defense need to keep a step closer to Babbitt, which is one reason to keep him in that starting line up.
Two things to note going forward. First, this week is brutal; do not let the Knicks’ game fool you. Secound, Babbitt hurt his knee. The preliminary is a sprain.
Enjoy the win, just don’t expect 8 of 18 from three every night.
6 responses to “New Orleans Pelicans Net Easy Win over Los Angeles Lakers”
The Pelicans are 7-5 in games that Eric Gordon played in, 2-5 in games he did not play in.
Couldn’t agree more doc… Our successes should be celebrated, but also measured against who they are against. At the very least and echo in a different posting, I am pleased that we are winning games we are supposed to.
Come On Pelican Get well soon EG Man. Coo Coo ca Choo.
It seems at this point in the season, the Pelicans are winning the games they’re supposed to and losing the games they’re supposed to- that won’t be good enough to make the playoffs. However, I think it is progress – compared to last year, when they seemed to drop more games to teams they should beat (or were generally tanking). Certainly there are some teams that the Pels match-up pretty evenly with (e.g. Wiz), and those have largely come down to home court. The problem is that December is brutal. If we don’t get at least a couple of wins against the spread, will be hard to see the Pels staying at 500.
17 games in December. 6 are against teams with a losing record. However 2 / 6 are against an OK squad that has their 2 all-NBA players back. The other 11 games are against teams with winning records. So far for the season we are 1 and 8 against teams that currently have a winning record.
On the other hand, the Pels have had 12 road games to 7 home games. Play a lot better at home and get another crack at some good teams with home court advantage this month. I hope that can change enough the outcomes to get us 6 more wins this month. Holding out right around 500 through December would be a major accomplishment in my mind.
dschmid4 Come On Pelican I really laughed at this. (in the good way)