Writing this post was basically a practice in masochism. This was a hard one to watch, and writing about it hurts.
In my pregame I mentioned a couple things the Pels would need to key in on to get a win tonight:
- Play as a team – The team had 17 assists to 18 turnovers. The starters had 10 assists to 14 turnovers. There was no ball movement, and many, many ill-advised drives to the basket. It was ugly, the complete opposite of the Pels’ last game (should have seen it coming)
- Find a Way to Score – the Pels average 97ppg on the road, almost 10 less than they average at home, but tonight they barely even reached 80. No one wins with 80, not without some amazing effort on defense (and the Pels neither amazing effort nor amazing defense).
- Eric Gordon – he attempted to shoulder a large load with Davis and Holiday out, but he bit off more than he could chew and could not keep up his shooting form. He was largely ineffective, scoring 16 points on 16 shots (5 made).
Positives: The bench. After being outscored 33-22 in the first, the bench brought the Pels back within 3 before the half. Ajinca had a career night. In 25 minutes he was 6-9 from the field for 16pts to go along with 14rebs. He, Fredette, and Pondexter were the only ones on the team with a positive +/- in meaningful minutes.
Negatives: Everything else. Blown out by a team with 2 home wins all season before tonight. This was an embarrassing loss regardless of who was out, make no mistake about it. Evans, replacing Holiday as the starting pg had 7 turnovers and 8 points. Anderson, starting for Davis, had 8 points on 2-11 shooting. To make matters worse, OKC beat the Warriors tonight, pulling even with New Orleans. Up next for the Pels is Toronto, (OKC’s next opponent is Orlando). If the Pels don’t figure things out soon, they’ll be watching their playoff hopes pass before their very eyes, despite the opportunities they have been given.
Toronto hosts the Pels on Sunday. If we know anything about this Pelicans team, they won’t play the same way they did tonight, hopefully it is better.
13 responses to “Road Woes Hit New Low, Pels Lose by 15 to Philly”
I know AD was out…I know Jrue was out…but that was horrendous…if we are that mentally fragile then we can forget playoffs (evoking Mora tirade)…I think that was Monty’s nail
Can’t believe the ppl who write for this site were all excited this offseason for getting Asik and getting our hopes high for him. Asik is pure trash as Stephen A Smith would say ” The man can’t play he’s a bonifide scrub. Idc about his rebounding Ajinca had 14 tonight. He can’t catch the ball, he gets stuffed at the rim or just misses completely and we he catches it at the top of the key it’s an automatic TO we better not resign him. No one frustrates me more than him not even MONTY who should’ve been fired
Was it just wishful thinking or did Philly play the game of their lives? Some of the shots that went in for them were fairly lucky, and defensively they were just smothering the Pels. Amazing energy overall.
Turnovers were the difference maker here. Evans was who we needed to get going, not Gordon. Gordon was going to try his best to take over as he always does, and fail as he always does. But shots weren’t going in for really anyone tonight, and Evans wasn’t able to be his usual self going to the basket. Quincy couldn’t hit a thing. Ryno was insignificant after Q1. Just bad nights for everyone.
But why? Why is there such an inconsistency with this team? Honestly, at this point, I don’t think it’s the players. We’ve seen the team at its best and (hopefully) at its worst. And lately the worst has come when the team plays down to the level of its opponents. And I don’t want to say “level,” because really it’s opposing records that’s probably the reason behind the bad team play, because at this point, the players and coaches should know that any NBA team can beat any other NBA team on any given night.
Which brings me back to the problem behind the inconsistencies of the Pels. I may be biased, because I’ve been excited for this team since Day 1, but I can’t see it being fully the players’ faults. When they know their roles, an 8-man rotation of Davis, Holiday, Evans, Anderson, Asik, Gordon, Cunningham, and Pondexter I think can be one of the best in the league (along with some minor role players like Jimmer or Withey/Ajinça if he plays well). And we’ve seen that in action. I’ve never been on the #FireMonty bandwagon, because I’ve seen the team put up incredible performances the past few seasons so I’ve always had a sliver of hope. But at what point does the blame start to fall on the coach? How about when the season is at its midway point and the largest winning streak has been 2? Granted, we’re not the Knicks, and the longest losing streak has only been 3. But if there’s a way for the team to be more consistent, better coaching might be the answer.
I don’t particularly like or understand how so many fans and even some writers here have completely given up on the team this year and what it’s trying to accomplish, because I really don’t think a complete roster overhaul is in order. When bad losses like this happen, people tend to only look at the negatives for players. The playoffs are still a very real possibility. I hope people don’t give up now.
Games will be lost, especially when we have injuries to our two top players but when there is so much inconsistency on a night to night basis and our coach openly says he doesn’t know how to fix the problem, something has to change. I don’t know the most realistic coaching/GM options out there but Avery-Dumars is not the answer. We can’t go through another rebuild and believe AD is just gonna sit by on a sub .500 team. Maybe this will light a fire under Monty to shake things up, it’s hard to get much worse.
Then what happened against the Celtics? Or Charlotte? Underperforming teams out hustle us and random players have career nights against us. I actually like a lot of what Monty brings but I’ve run out of excuses for him. This game was without AD and we were embarrassed, but it’s like Jekyl and Hyde out there. If an in game adjustment is needed, I don’t trust Monty to make it. AD is under contract and we know how good he is already with the sky his limit to grow. Do we think Monty and Dell are the best guys to build and guide him through his next contract with us? I expected the losses but we can’t blame the inconsistency on just two players. That can’t be how a team is built or coached in my opinion.
AngryCookies and what about the 2 or 3 blocks Asik recieves each game? I think i would be able to block him if i played against him…and im not a profesional player and im not even 6ft tall…but even guards are getting blocks against him… Never seen a 7 footer go up so soft for dunks…
xman20002000 Jason Quigley Xman…most team cant afford losing two starters… but against Philly?!?!!? Really? If the goals for this teams are playoffs or improvement, our subs should crush Philly starters. We lost by 15 to the poster team for tanking. And why so many other tams can overcome tough injuries (Lee in GSW, Howard in Hou, DeRozan in Tor….). Continuity is the best thing for a coach and GM, but that is if they are good. I like the team Dell assembled, but it looks like Monty dont have the way to make this team play to its level of its players night in and night out…
Also…i think this is the first time i though Monty was doing a Pops thing and rested two players with light injuries believing he would post a W against one of the bottom two teams in the league and could rest them… guess that is the only thing i seen Spurs style in 4 years …Guess he really in McMillan school more than Pops… tick tock…tick tock…Monty Williams time should be ending soon…And for the guys prefering a change offseason….why delaying the inevitable…i rather have 40 more games with a new coach to start learning a new system that keep seeing my team being embarassed by east teams…. and i thought we would be a playoff team in the east….we would be the Knicks…
Nithenz xman20002000 Jason Quigley TWO worst “teams” in the current NBA are PHI and the Knicks. Had the opportunity to reach that 8th spot with this “easy schedule”. NYK are the next opp! Cant blow it!
Still surprised why so well against the Saruman of the West and so badly against the Frodos of the East….
This game should seal the deal for Monty. I don’t care, if Davis and Holiday were hurt. Being dominated by the Sixers is inexcusable.
Give Dell an opportunity to hire a coach for the team he built. Give that coach one year. If things don’t turn around, clean house in the front office.
Anthony Davis is too good of a player, and will be too big of a star for this team to be playing the way they are playing. If something isn’t done, an enormous opportunity for New Orleans will be squandered.
Rorschach inkblot test is a test to see what the viewer is bringing to a situation and games like this are just Rorschach inkblot tests to me.
You know, how is it sensible to say the Pelicans lost without their two best players so fire the coach? Did OKC do that earlier this year? And what about the roster? What percent of other Western Conference playoff teams would our guys, besides Davis, start for? Make your list and see if that points to the fact that we don’t have the talent to be a playoff team now. My list is below. It totals 1 and 2/3rds positions out of 5 and points to Memphis as the only team we could complete with, which has been historically true. That’s not near enough to make the playoffs.
Davis 100%
Jrue 37.5%: Houston, Memphis, Phoenix
Tyreke 37.5%: LAC, Memphis, OKC
Eric (0%): OKC (but would chose Tyreke at SG)
And what about Phily? If you think for one second they didn’t know they actually had a chance to win, if only because our two best players were out, and played their hardest because of it, you don’t know sports or human nature. Other (L)eastern Conference teams must feel the same way when they are at home. Our young team hasn’t learned how to win on the road. Give them time. The Pelicans are on schedule, or ahead of schedule, based of every historical model of NBA rebuilding I know.
Patience, Grasshopper, patience.
Davis and Holliday out with minor injuries. Evans turning the ball over and over. Gordon and Pondexter missing layups. Anderson unable to shoot. Asik missing dunks and fumbling rebounds out of bounds. Which of these items is Monty’s fault? I think not!
The open layups by Philly – maybe due to some defensive scheme. The re-insertion of the starting lineup at the start of the 3rd – definitely Monty’s fault. Other than that, I think we have to blame the players or whoever decided to put all these streaky guys on the same team.
Nithenz honestly if I’ve learned anything on this site it’s to not reply to xman… it will not yield many good results.