The Pelicans lost to the Wizards tonight for the second time this season in a very similar fashion to the first. The Pels led only once all game (early in the first quarter), but managed kept it close down the stretch, just couldn’t come up with the plays they needed. Some notes on the game:
- Eric Gordon looked ok on his return, getting involved with 5 assists. His shot was clearly off (2-8 from the field) however, and he had the worst +/- of the night (-10)
- Tyreke looked healthy as he put up 21-7-4 on 50% from the field coming off the bench for the first time this season. He was the only Pelican with a positive +/-
- The Pelicans struggled finding good looks for their big men (well for everyone else too really) all game. Davis only had 12 shots (he made 9 of them), and had an uncharacteristic 3 turnovers; Anderson was 4-12 from the field (3-5 from deep); and Asik was only 1-1 on the night.
- Washington’s depth really showed as Kris Humphries, Andre Miller, and the rest of the second unit really made a positive impact on the game for the visitors. New Orleans had no answer for Humphries’ physical play, and Miller found people (including himself) in good positions time and time again
- Washington had 5 people in double figures, another with 9, and 3 more with 6.
- In my pre-game post, I mentioned 3 things that the Pels would need to do, they hit on 0/3:
- 1) Protect the Paint – they were outscored in the paint again (42-38)
- 2) Ryan Anderson continues his improved play – he shot 4-12 and only had 3 rebounds
- 3) Play more efficient offense than the last meeting – well they shot better (44% vs 37%), but they wasted a ton of possessions with 18 turnovers in a slow paced game, a good bit above their season average.
The Pelicans drop back to .500; over their last 10 games they have gone W,L,W,L,W,L,W,L,W,L, and they haven’t been two games over .500 since November 12th.
Next up for the Pels is a trip to Charlotte for a Wednesday night matchup at the Hive.
9 responses to “Pelicans Can’t Match Wizards’ Depth or Defense”
xman20002000 I think your observation is right on as I felt the same thing watching Davis in the Arena tonight…I even commented to my seatmates that he looked weak out there for some reason…I do believe Nene was that reason. I think that stunned AD as he really did not appear to handle it well in the first half…it really was not until he hit a shot or two and got the breakaway dunk that he started playing with more passion. Youth and lack of body weight for sure down there tonight. Wizards are a good team; I’ve liked them since the playoffs last year, the Wall is just a stand up guy from everything I’ve read.
With two days off between games, and coming off the big win vs Houston, I expected the team to come out with more energy, but instead they seemed slow and stunned…again I think you are right as even our guys may feel the Wiz have our number…looking at our bench during a timeout I did not see anyone talking…just standing around…only saw Tyreke trying to get the guys going in the second half during play, clapping his hands and chattering to the guys at one point.
I’m gonna keep this one simple: we are awful against physical/grind-it-out teams.
The Pelicans are S-O-F-T. They need to develop a mean streak and play with some anger. We have no enforcer. That is a direct reflection on Monty. You’ll never win anything with a bunch of altar boys.
I think what the Wizards game shows is that good defensive teams are deciding to pack the paint against the Pelicans and dare us to take even non-contested shots. True our best offense is in the paint, but we are not physical enough to dominate the paint. When teams are playing as far off of us as the Wizards were, we have to launch 3-pointers and pull up jumpers. Even Anderson is relying more on taking the ball inside. Only Evans is physical enough at his position to take it consistently to the hoop, and even he had problems until he hit some threes forcing them to come out and guard him. We need to run multiple screens to free up our best shooters in the spots they like to hit from. If we don’t, we will see more and more teams pack the paint against us like the Wizards did.
Pelicans played with no energy for the majority of the game. Monty’s decision to EG was dumb IMO….he should’ve been eased back into the lineup. …Then why bring Reke off the bench? If he was well enough to play he should’ve started……Then the rotation was bad….Rivers and Ajinca should be out of the rotation. …FREE WITHEY. …
Davis didnt take his first shot until 3 minutes before halftime, he only really touched the ball twice before that and it resulted in 2 turnovers. Regardless of the 2 turnovers, we have one of the best players in the league and we can only manage to get him to 3 touches on offense in 21 minutes of play? cmon man
His shots may not have been falling but I liked the hustle from EG though.
Tough loss, but I’m loving these new crowds at the games. I can’t remember ever seeing such an intense crowd for a Monday night game (and against the Wizards, no less). That’s a very reassuring sign.
Also, some jackass (a supposed Pelicans fan) was heckling Gordon during quiet lulls from the crowd. It was really awkward and gross.
nolahog I agree…the crowd was definitely more noticeable for a Monday…if we could have hit a few more shots and developed some momentum, I think the crowd would have been even more vocal…it is true that the players feed off the crowd, but in some degree I also think the crowd feeds off the players, and when there is no intensity, the crowd just does not have a lot to get excited about…that’s why we cheer for guys like Cunningham who are hustlers when they play…
I sure would like to see the following:
Holiday, Evans, Babbitt, Davis, Asik
Fredette, Gordon, Cunningham, Anderson, Withey
Three good scorers, floor spacers, and lineup based defenders for each unit…