For the second time this season, the Pelicans held all the cards through the first three quarters – and then sputtered in the fourth and lost the game. Really – the Blazers didn’t change their defense much – it’s just that the Pelican guards started missing. I mentioned in the game preview that the Blazers drop back on pick and rolls and stay home on shooters. They did that all game long. Early on, the Pels were using that to get to the rim for easy ones – and if there was a miss, they got offensive rebounds. In the fourth, as the Blazers stuck to the rolling Davis like glue, Jrue and Tyreke started taking open 10-foot shots or contested layups on the move, and Aldridge and Lopez kept Davis off the glass.
And the Pels missed. A lot. And on the other side, the Blazers hit shots and took advantage of their size over an Anderson-Davis frontcourt. The Pels really did miss Asik a lot in this game.
Other Observations:
- Tyreke started going nuts in the third. It’s hard to enjoy it quite so thoroughly since the game was a loss, but Tyreke was brilliant for a while – and then started hitting pull up jumpers. It was ridiculous.
- Gordon had a good game going in the first half. He apparently played in the second. I think. Not sure I remember seeing him.
- Kaman was a bull in the middle until New Orleans suddenly remembered he’s extremely turnover prone. Once they started attacking his dribble, he was pulled. Of course, that was AFTER he’d scored 15 on 10 shots.
- Ajinca wasn’t the wreck I was expecting. He had stretches of bad, and stretches of good. Good enough for your fourth big.
- Jeff Withey just had stretches of bad. Dude wanted to block everything. He was pump-faked into the rafters about 87-million times.
- Davis’ double block of Aldridge and Matthews in the third was nuts. He also should have gotten the ball more in the fourth when that pick and roll up top kept failing. It’s nice to think Jrue and Tyreke from 5-10 feet is a good shot, but it’s not.
- Oh, and Davis had 31 pts on 20 shots, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals, 0 turnovers. All he needed was a little help, not 16-48 shooting from the guards/wings.
This team is young, and what it needs to do is figure out how to win games on the road still. Tonight, they had a win on the road, and they let it slip through their fingers. Hopefully the can bounce back tomorrow night against the Kings.
17 responses to “Observations: Pelicans @ Blazers”
Pels played great but I got concerned when I saw Jrue play the entire 3rd and start the 4th if I remember correctly? Evans also but then he sat for about 2-3 min in 4th and got up for Jrue. Davis also played a lot in 2nd half. Guys got tired and shots stopped falling. 4-24 FGs in final qtr was our doom…Asik missed on the offensive and defensive glass as Blazers kept getting all the loose balls…Ajinca did OK but it is amazing to see how weak he really is compared to the other big guys..they put an arm on his body and he can’t leave the floor…sad that a 7-2 guy can’t convert an alley oop but I think I’m spoiled by Davis, and Chandler before him. Rivers very quiet tonight…lots of bad bounces off the rim in that last frame…a shame…hope Asik plays tomorrow or Cousins will be unstoppable
at the pace AD’s game is improving, I think it’s pretty clear that he should have the ball in his hands to win games. dude looked polished on the block tonight. too bad our guards forgot in the 4th
if we ever find a competent SF…………………..
whats up with Jrue? i expect more from him. he missed ALOT of makable shots.
i simply dont trust evans or gordon in clutch spots
pleasantly surprised by Jinx and Withey (nice baseline jumper)
i dont know what babbitt is doing out there. this team NEEDS A 3. im hoping its corey brewer
why were the pels doubling LMA and leaving shooters open. this worked in the 1st half but u know portland shooters would soon get out
I liked what I saw from most players tonight. I remember thinking in the 3rd quarter, “Everybody is playing great”. It’s funny to me that last year we were terrible in 3rd quarters and this year it’s our strength. Don’t know if there is anything to that. I have noticed in a couple close losses this year, AD didn’t touch the ball the last few mins except for rebounds. And he was by far the hottest shooter out there, he couldn’t be guarded. Only thing I would change is give him more carries.
And I hope those minutes positively affect Ajinca. Seems like he’s always gotten better after a little bit of play. Hopefully he can do what he did tonight for us coming off the bench.
It’s been 2 years and I think I’ve found the answer to the Gordon mins situation. Play him for most of the first half, then don’t let him in the game the second half.
AD/Tyreke were unfair out there tonight!
xman20002000 against bad teams, Evans, Holiday and Gordon will be enough to win games. against good teams, they stuggle and the unibrow isnt good enough to carry a team by himself down the homestretch (yet).
the bench is a disaster…smh
Portland played awesome free-throw defense, forcing 7 misses by our guards and our franchise player.
It was evident that we intentionally slowed the pace in the 4th once we had an insurmountable lead. We passed up shots in rhythm to extend the shot clock, and ended up missing the contested shot. That is what needs to change going forward. We need to play in the flow of the game, not try to slow down the game.
I found tyreke evans and jrue ball hogged too much at the end. There was a point mid fourth where AD was 14-18, but only finished with 20 shots. Inexcusable….. feed your best player the ball especially when he’s that hot
Ugh. How did we lose that game? Middle of the 3rd, I would have bet $1K that the Pelicans would win that game. Thank the Lord sports betting isn’t legal in Louisiana. Asik was sorely missed.
so who would’ve stopped AD if they got him the ball late? when he got it on the block, got in triple-threat stance and sized up whoever was guarding him (Lopez, Aldridge, Kaman), it ended with a layup, pull up jumper, or 2 free throws.. you gotta get your best player the ball and live or die with whatever he creates for himself. If AD’s going to be one of the best ever we need to get him the ball now in crunch time so he’s used to taking the big shot. he’s already proven he can hit game-winners, throw it to him and see what happens. I’m sure we all would live with the results
callmened So is San Antonio a bad team?
I chalk the negativity up to expectations of the Pelicans going 3-1 on this road trip. I was always hoping for 2-2. Portland is a good team. When I heard Batum was out I got excited for a few minutes until I heard Asik was out. I believe Asik playing would have made a big difference, especially on Kaman.
Also, everything I saw tonight reaffirmed the following for me. I believe we need a cheap upgrade at SF this year, and I don’t believe our current bench is strong enough to get us to the playoffs this year.
Evans, Holiday and Davis playing 38 and 39 minutes, and Anderson and Gordon playing 35 and 36 minutes is not ideal, especially in the first game of a back-to-back. I think that is why we played so poorly in the 4th quarter, fatigue. But what choice did Monty have? We have so few quality NBA players, when one is injured there isn’t someone new to pick up the slack
NOEngineer Agreed! I call it the “Prevent” Offense. Like football, it does nothing but prevent you from winning.
Outside of Ryan Anderson and Austin Rivers, our bench doesn’t offer much, that’s why I think it would be beneficial to have Eric Gordon come off the bench. I’m sure those super-size egos won’t like it but if winning is truly what it’s all about for them then this gives us a great chance to win. Anthony Davis is unbelievable and I never feared him leaving NOLA for Chicago but I really think something’s gotta happen and quickly the team to keep him around.
We needed better shot selection in the 4th which I thought got us in the end, NOEngineer is spot on with looking to wind down the clock rather than take the good look, I also thought the match-ups didn’t help us.
Jrue had a great game on the ball (I love him in D) but couldn’t get it to fall (which happens), I felt sorry for him cause you could see his (& Tyreke’s) frustration. Especially after Jrue pulled down those two offensive rebounds and still couldn’t get the put-backs to fall.
I was thinking to myself, is it time just throw AD the ball 4th and let him bring us home??? I dunno, he’s the undisputed star and should of got more ball in the forth, but I feel he needs another season before Monty throws that kind responsibility and role onto his shoulders cause I really love how AD is developing & gaining confidence. We have so many players that rate themselves in that role too; Tyreke I feel looks the most comfortable in the ‘last shot of the game, give me the ball’ role but his handle around the rim is a worry and EG I think would be perfect guy for it, but is still coming out of his early season blues and I didn’t see him much in the 2nd half.
I had no problem with Jrue taking shots late in the forth and I do think AD should have seen more ball.
Good game to watch, shame our overall shooting % went from amazing to average purely in the 4th (match-ups were an issue w). Good game but Irritating loss.
504ever callmened theyre a great team and they played well in a great victory. however it doesnt negate my concerns about their consistency in close games. most of the time, evans gordon and holiday choke in big spots. theyre not the most reliable
Agree with many of the comments…I was pleased with the effort and sad for the outcome…guys just got tired as a result of the lack of depth and that may have been due to Monty understandably being wary of going to deep in a winnable situation…happy to see no one blaming Monty for a 4-24 shooting debacle in the 4th…hoping Asik can go tonight but still now word on that