The New Orleans Pelicans fell to 4-12, ending their only winning streak of the season at length 3 and shoring up their 14th seed position in the Western Conference, 4 games behind 8th and 5 other teams in between that also need to be passed. Moreover, Anthony Davis took a couple tumbles on the game, with the most significant by far being one that has led to at least a knee contusion.
Focusing first on game play, the Pelicans were matching the Clippers pretty well for about 7 minutes. After that, the Clippers scored very quickly, and while the Pelicans got to within 5 points at a couple points, the Clippers were truly maintaining about an 8-point cushion for a long stretch. Then, the wheels came off, and the Pelicans went into the half down 21, 63-42.
Much of the problem was the fast break. The Pelicans had had 2 points on the break, but the Clippers had 19. The Pelicans were either attacking the rim or taking a decent shot from the perimeter and dropping back on defense, largely abandoning offensive rebounds. The Clippers were creating their success by finding creases in the defense before it got set. They took longer and what would normally be more risky passes, but were rewarded.
In the third, the Pelicans took up their rim attacks again and the Clippers fouled the Pelicans 3 times quite quickly in one possession with about 9 minutes left in the quarter. The Pelicans did not get stops at first, but eventually started to close the gap as fouls on key Clippers mounted. This was when Davis got hurt, and the game was permanently out of reach.
Davis will be evaluated further. A contusion can be many things and can also mask many things, so patience is key here. Davis was clearly grimacing on the court while he was down for several minutes. Then, he could not complete his walk to the locker room, and he was carried to the locker room by Perkins and Ajinca in Globetrotter fashion. Davis returned to the bench, so the injury is not obviously crippling.
Other notes:
- Holiday sat after played just 13 minutes due to picking up 3 fouls early, Davis’ injury. and the score of the game. It’s unclear if this will affect his availability tomorrow.
- Asik played just 15 minutes while Jordan played 25. See Holiday comment sans fouls.
- The Pelicans were woefully inefficient tonight on offense and defense: 90 points on 94 shots compared to 111 points on 83 shots. Of the Pelicans who took at least 10 shots, only one was better than 1 pps: Eric Gordon (16 points, 12 shots).
The Pelicans play the Jazz at 8pm CT (UTC -6). The Jazz are 7-7, having the beat the Clippers Wednesday, and have no new injuries.
4 responses to “New Orleans Pelicans Return to Losing Ways”
It’s time to admit it: Hiring Alvin Gentry to be the head coach of
this particular group of Pelicans players was a mistake.Here are 4 additional reasons that I haven’t
mentioned before:(1) the behavior of
the coaching staff on courtside during games – constant screaming at players
during the game itself; getting technical fouls and even allowing an injured
player in street clothes to get one.This is unbecoming of these supposedly intelligent and accomplished leaders
and sets a horrible example for our players and our fans; (2) seeing the game start
to collapse upon removing Omer Asik from the game at 7 minutes of the 1st
quarter, only to repeat the very same mistake in the 3rd quarter of
the same game; (3) Darren Erman.Did you
see his halftime interview with Jen Hale last night?3 times he said the defense – which gave up
63 points in the 1st half – needs to play with more/better “force.”What is the likelihood that the 22 to 27 year
old players on this team have any idea what he’s talking about?“Force?”Seriously?(4) atrocious game
plans against familiar teams (last night’s opponent is one Gentry coached
against 4 times each year during his tenure at Golden State).
Come On Pelican 1) for everyone saying this is bad, there is someone else saying the opposite is bad. This is irrelevant, actually. 2) They gut the lead after this point in the third. Mistake? 3) The Clippers were masterful in running off the break, which is caused by offense, and this isn’t Gentry. 4) The Clippers were significantly overhauled. Griffin and Paul get there’s, plus Redick. Perimeter defense.
You put time into these, but i’m offering counter-points. Truth is, none of us have seen the Pelicans, so any judgment is premature.
Jason Calmes
I have no problem admitting you are much smarter than I am and
that you know a lot more about the nuts and bolts of professional basketball
than I do.Respectfully, however,
nothing you have said actually refutes any of my points (for example, during
the 12 minutes that Asik was on the court during the 1st & 3rd
quarters, the teams played to a 19-19 tie; the rest of the game, not so much; one
doesn’t need to be a genius to see that Omer was a beast on the boards last
night and that he had a positive impact defensively; these coaches have claimed
their playing time and lineup decisions will be dictated by matchups; my example
was provided simply to show they have not done a very good job when it comes to
making those calls), nor have your counter-arguments undercut my primary point
by identifying any specific examples of great coaching by this coaching
staff.The information and insights that
you and your BSS colleagues provide on this site daily are impressive and are are
unquestionably more valuable than mine, but, in the end, I will posit that my big-picture,
average-fan perspective is much closer to what will be the thought process of
the Saints/Pelicans decision-makers when it comes time for them to decide upon future
of Dell Demps and these coaches at the end of this surprisingly disappointing
season. No matter, I will keep reading and attending and watching games, and possibly even commenting, for whatever my remarks are worth.
Come On Pelican Jason Calmes Not trying to refute you. I offered counter points. You’re the one making the case, not me. I’m just giving you things to consider. Offering counterpoints is not saying you are wrong, it’s just more to consider. I’m telling you what I’m considering with what you said, much of which I agree with on a factual basis . . . I just draw different conclusions.
A quibble: Asik was -10 when on the court. -3 in the first stint, -7 after, so your claim about a “tie” is not accurate. Even if it was, the loss doesn’t make the choice a bad one. Also, that was -10 in 16 minutes, so the team was -11 without him in 32 minutes. Davis was -26 in 28 minutes, so the team was +5 in the 20 minutes without him. I dare say the +/- numbers here are out of whack due to the game flow, particularly garbage time.
As far as the thought process goes, read my article on Gentry. Dell and Alvin are here to stay for a while, so my advice is to get used to them.