The Pelicans lost 99-90, their first in 5 games, dropping them to 1 game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pels got off to a hot start, leading 14-4 after 5 minutes, but couldn’t sustain it, as the Blazers closed the the first Q on a 9-4 run to close it to 24-22. In the 2nd quarter things got worse for New Orleans, as the Blazers bench made their mark as they won the quarter 34-20. Chris Kaman and CJ McCollum came off the bench and went a combined 8-13 for 20 points in the first half. Chris Kaman had 8 rebounds, 4 offensive, in the first half alone, leading to 5,000,000,000 2nd chance points for the Blazers on the night. Kaman ended with a 16 and 11 stat line and a +29.
Monty tried to counter the bench’s lack of…basketball playing ability in the first half by playing the starters extended minutes in the third quarter, and it worked out, as the Pels won the quarter 28-19, and then the bench was able to hold on to the work the starters put in and the game remained pretty even until the final stretch. With 4:22 left in the 4th Q, the game was tied at 85, but the Blazers put together a 10-0 run over the next 2+ minutes and that was all she wrote. A lot of the Pelicans shots were falling short, an indication of fatigue, but certainly no excuse as both teams were coming off back-to-backs against sub-.500 teams.
Before the game I listed 3 things the Pelicans would need to key in on to come out with a win:
- Win the 3pt battle – the Pels did end up winning this one (7/16 vs 6/16), but unfortunately the more important battle ended up being on the FT line: The Blazers killed the Pelicans 21/23 to 5/10.
- Anderson was destroyed on the defensive end tonight, and only provided 6 points on 6 shots for the Pels tonight. The flamethrower was not put in a very good position to succeed very often tonight, finding himself matched up against a much bigger Kaman in the post often, and never made his mark on the game. Tonight was certainly a learning experience as he continues to try to find his way back into the groove
- Davis and Aldridge was and is an interesting and very even matchup, as both had a tough going tonight, but I missed the mark again as this was nowhere near the deciding matchup. Davis’ slump continues as he put up 19 points on 20 shots
Next up for the Pelicans are the league leading Golden State Warriors. The Pels are still very much in the playoff race so Flock Up and tune in on Tuesday for the matchup! Don’t forget the BourbonStreetShots watch party at Tracey’s on Magazine this coming Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies! See you there.
3 responses to “Pelicans Lose to Trail Blazers”
Cole -22. QPon – +19. One of these players hoisted up bad shot after bad shot (some of which went in), but got to play big minutes in the 4th quarter. Cole should have been pulled after the 2nd or 3rd bad shot.
I would have liked to see Withey get a shot to slow Kaman, instead of using Anderson. Anderson has had two poor games in a row, and AD had zero offense tonight. Withey is not a great rebounder, but at least he has some interior presence.
Great 3 quarters by Gordon and Evans, but they failed in the 4th. Evans has to regain his free throw stroke, though.
We finally got some beneficial refereeing for once. They let us back in in the 3rd with some really questionable calls, but the poor game from AD, the missed free throws, and the poor shot selection for big stretches killed a golden opportunity.
xman20002000 NOEngineer Ryno has not priduced all yr; was only a journryman before his injury last yr, has been a train wreck this year, despite what some @BourbonStreetShots claim about the absolute value of floor spacing and Ryno’s great home stats: he flatout cannot cover 5s and hence should rarely play in place of a center; plus he’s unable to make any defensive rotations around the basket – none. Ryno comi g off injury was a test that Monty has failed so far. Babbitt offers Pels 2 advantages over Ryno: 1. Monty would never ask him to cover a 5, and 2. he actually can make his 3s. Alas, Luke-Monty is not a bromance.
I think you’re spot on. I too thought about Withey coming in when Anderson was struggling defensively… AD’s shot was definitely off, and Evans has somehow lost his confidence at the line. If AD could’ve shot a little better, or at least a little better luck as I recall three of them rimming out, we probably win. Cole does seem a little trigger-happy, but has provided a spark at times. Just can’t expect him to shoot as well as our other guys I guess.