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Breaking Bad: the Quest to Win Games We’re Supposed To
I received a tweet today asking whether Pelicans fans would ever truly know how the team would perform in a given game. It’s an interesting question, because despite a couple of obvious winning correlates (shooting, home games), the Pelicans have sort of been all over the map this year. They can beat anyone and they […]
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Lack of Free Throws From Guards Is Primary Reason for Offensive Inconsistency
I have been screaming it for weeks – on Twitter, on the podcast, and in the comments section as well, but it is time I put together a coherent piece with numbers that back up my hypothesis. For those who do not know what I am talking about, I have been on my soap box […]
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Pelicans Passing to Wins
On January 19th, the New Orleans Pelicans were 20-21 after losing in disappointing fashion to the New York Knicks. Since that game, the Pelicans have won six of seven, easily their most productive stretch of the season, and are one game back of the Phoenix Suns for the 8th and final playoff spot. The Pelicans […]
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Quick Hits: The Pelicans Aren’t Better Without Jrue
The Pelicans are playing their best basketball of the season. They just beat the hottest team in the NBA, the Hawks, who entered the game on a 19 game winning streak. Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon have been in perpetual attack mode and are setting up others incredibly well. Some of the fans/analysts searching for a reason […]
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Ryan Anderson and Shooting Risk
Last night, Mac sent out 2 tweets explaining how the Pelicans offense goes as their jump shooting goes because they do not go to the line and they do not have post scorers. A lack of shooting has been a problem for the Pelicans all year. And while there are ways to run an effective […]
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Pelicans Playoff Hunt – Not Quite There
Life can often be a battle of good versus bad, but often this is very much a perception of our own realities. In the New Orleans Pelicans’ case their reality is very much a battle of inconsistencies. We spoke a while ago of the importance of gaining ground in the Western Conference playoff hunt with […]
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New Orleans Pelicans’ Mid-Season Report Card
With the New Orleans Pelicans’ season now officially halfway complete, it is a good time to take a look back and see how the team has fared relative to expectations. In this relatively high-level post, I start out by putting things in perspective with the team’s first half schedule, followed by player/coach grades accompanied by both quick notes to […]
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Monty Williams: Difference or Indifference?
The New Orleans Pelicans’ season up to this point has been mindbogglingly mediocre and middling . . . or just south of that. Their record is 20-21, as close to 0.500 as mathematically possible . . . but just shy They’ve beaten some good teams, lost to bad ones . . . but the losses […]
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Breaking Down the Tyreke Evans Game Winner
Last night, after Tyreke Evans won the game for the New Orleans Pelicans, I saw a lot of people saying on Twitter saying it wasn’t a good look. That Evans ran into four Toronto Raptors’ defenders. And that it was kind of lucky. I’ve given Evans a lot of flak this season over what I […]
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New Orleans Pelicans Issues Go Beyond Monty Williams
Let’s get one thing straight – I am not a ‘Monty Apologist’ or a ‘Fanboy’. I wouldn’t even call myself an optimist by any means. Yet, because I don’t scream FIRE MONTY! from the mountain tops, I have been called all of these things dozens of times. The truth is that I want this team […]
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The Pelican Playoff Hunt – Gaining Ground in The West
It’s been a full week since the last installment of the Pelican playoff chase and not much has changed. There has been some very intriguing events to note across the four teams battling hard for the 7th and 8th seeds to the playoffs. If you haven’t already, please make sure you check out Chris Romaguera’s […]
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Why Anthony Davis Needs More Touches
I’m not going to lie, it’s weird being upset about an offense ranked 8th in the Association. With the Pelicans’ defense coming in at 7th worst a lot of people would rather we focus our efforts discussing that. But with the team underachieving (most likely; it depends on your expectations) everything should be on the […]
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Monty Williams’ Loss Aversion May Be Causing Losses
As part of my resolution to expand my so-called game here on the site, I’m going to try to talk a little more about the on-court play of the New Orleans Pelicans. Right now seems the perfect time to talk about losses and why they happen, or at least one reason. The team just dropped […]
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It’s all about the Mid-Range Jumpshot
I spend a lot of time talking about the mid-range jump shot. Honestly, I spend too much time talking about the mid-range jump shot. The reason why is pretty simple. Everyone hates the mid-range jump shot. I understand why they hate it. “Analytics” tells us it is the most inefficient shot in basketball. Yes, half court […]
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An Analysis on the Pelicans Defensive Struggles
I’ve been wondering for the longest time why the Pelicans have struggled on defense. They have what appears to be a talent group of athletes. All are more than capable of containing and defending the talent on offer in the NBA. Currently New Orleans ranks 25th in defensive rating this season. They’ve only improved slightly […]
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My Bar Food With Eric
It has been quite a long time since I so looked forward to a normal night. I’ve had about 10 months of abnormal nights, and this was supposed to be a nice, relaxing evening at the bar with the guys and a game (New Orleans Pelicans v Houston Rockets). I’d worked a little bit later […]
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Evaluating Project Asik-and-Destroy
For two years, the Pelicans struggled to find a center to play next to Anthony Davis. Last season, the Pels featured the 3 headed monster of Withey, Stiemsma, and Ajinca. Before that we had Robin Lopez, whom a lot of people apparently feel quite strongly about. For better or worse, none of these guys fit Dell […]
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MythBusters – New Orleans Pelicans Have More Flexibility Than You Think
The team has no picks and is full of high-end contracts, and they are about to give AD a 300-400 percent increase in salary in two years, so we won’t even have him on a great contract anymore. We fricked. I believe that is how the argument goes, though I am paraphrasing a bit. You […]
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Pelicans Perimeter Problems – Too Many Open Threes
Before I even type a single word, I already know that my theory will sound ridiculous to most, and I fully accept that. But hear me out before you completely dismiss what I have to say. What do I think is wrong with the Pelicans offense as currently constructed? My belief is that they take […]
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Trouble Igniting the Flamethrower? Anderson Through 30 Games
With about one-third of the NBA season now over, we have come to a strange place. Christmas ushers in a time of reflection, a time to stop and think, “Oh ,wow, I blew a lot of money on Dome and SKC beer this year.” Then, New Years hits and, we immediately turn around, look towards […]