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3-on-3: New Orleans Comedy Edition
What’s up Pelicans fans! Chris Trew here – I scooped up three comedians who all perform at the New Orleans comedy venue The New Movement and grilled them with the same three questions. Questions that dig deep into the psyche of the squad. Questions that matter. Questions that nobody (literally nobody, probably) is asking. Questions to […]
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Anthony Davis Showing Patience on Offense
This year Anthony Davis has been an absolute banshee on the court for the New Orleans Pelicans despite their winless start. He’s third in the league in scoring per game, averaging 31.3 points per game. This is well above the 24.3 he averaged last season. And the stats show that he is having a much […]
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In the NO Pod Ep. 269: The Return of the Jrue
Michael and I get to do a pod after a win!!! So instead of being 100% gloomy, we get to be 75% gloomy! That’s not entirely true, as we get to talk Jrue returning and what that means, what Tyreke could mean to the team, and what is the missing piece for the squad. Enjoy! […]
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Issues of Trust
I’ve spent some time thinking about just has gone wrong with this team that was controllable. Every team makes mistakes. Bad luck aside, I wanted to come up with an answer, and not just some early bad signing. I wanted the real root of the issue. These people are not incompetent. They can be wrong, […]
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Handling The Pressure
The New Orleans Pelicans, for the first time in a long time . . . a very long time . . . quit last night. The team will deny it. The players will deny it. The organization will deny it. A number of writers and fans will deny it or ignore it to grind irrelevant […]
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What Everybody is Saying and Nobody is Talking About
Everybody was saying that Hillary was a shoe-in just a week ago, but nobody was talking about how similar polls had projected Hillary to beat Bernie in some of the key states, and she ended up losing states like Michigan despite what the “projections” said. But guess what? Everybody started saying that as soon as […]
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Examining Lineup Data – the Value of Continuity
*Note – this column was written in advance of the Pelicans’ November 10th victory against the Bucks* Key Takeaway: Pelicans lineups that have played more than 5 minutes together this season (making up ~65% of the team’s total minutes played) have outscored their opponents by 6.6 points per 100 possessions (roughly the Thunder’s net rating last […]
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The Weak Link
We are now 8 games in and the Pelicans have as many victories as I have Buddy Hield jerseys. (Maybe this is what is holding us back, I’ll test this and get back to you). The lack of success has the fanbase in a tizzy. Who do we blame? The coach? The players? The GM […]
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Going small isn’t helping during crunch time
The Pelicans have been in a lot of close games this season. Only the Spurs game was an outright blowout, and the Pelicans have now logged the second highest number of “clutch” minutes (defined as last 5 minutes, within 5 of other team) in the league. Obviously, with zero wins, the team hasn’t exactly been […]
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A Small Defense of the Defense
I am among no small number of people discussing the defense of the New Orleans Pelicans. I have said some good things and bad. Jake has said the same here and on his Locked On Pelicans podcast (which you need to check out). McNamara has said more bad than good, while Ryan seems ok with […]
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The Good and Bad with the Pelicans’ Defense
A lot has been made of the Pelicans’ revamped defense. Is it truly 10th best in the league? Is it actually bad? Is this smoke and mirrors? Small sample size? Being affected by one or two games? It is still too early to predict where the defense will fall at the end of the season. […]
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The Cavalry
Significant injury has again beset the New Orleans Pelicans, this time striking Lance Stephenson. Stephenson suffered a groin injury in the Suns game, or possibly after, but was diagnosed as an injury where surgery was the best option. The Pelicans have waived Lance, whose contract is both partially guaranteed not terribly high in terms of […]
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What Everybody is Saying and Nobody is Talking About
Everybody was saying that last week’s piece would be a one-off. That I was just going to be able to do it once, and after that I would fade back into the oblivion. But what nobody was talking about was how determined I am to show how stupid it is to talk in these extremes, […]
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The Process and the Losses
The New Orleans Pelicans are not off to a good start as measured by wins. They are 0-6. Just so the point of what I’m saying below is not lost, I just want to come right out and say: While there is a ton to pick on, there is one simple fix that would have […]
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The Pels’ Supporting Cast and Their Missing Second Lead
Much has been made of the Pelicans supporting cast, or apparent lack thereof, recently. If you’re on this blog, you’re sure to have heard, at least a dozen times, “I feel sorry for Anthony Davis! He has such a terrible supporting squad around him! And so they keep losing games… I hope he gets traded […]
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The cost of Tim Frazier and observations
Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I’m a fan of Tim Frazier. I usually take the side of the underdog, and a not-quite six-foot five-year college player who went undrafted yet still fights his way to the NBA qualifies. He plays with fire and energy. I like watching him. Outside of Chaos Stephenson […]
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4 Thoughts Through 4 Games
The Pelicans have started the season a demoralizing 0-4 despite playing two very winnable games against the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks. In both games the Pelicans put themselves in position to win but in both cases they couldn’t “get over the hump” to pull it out. The Pelicans have paper thin margins for […]
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Finding the Perfect Pairing for Anthony Davis
So far this year the Pelicans are winless, despite Anthony Davis having two monster performances to start the year. And right now, the future doesn’t look too bright. Most people blame general manager Dell Demps. When New Orleans drafted Anthony Davis a championship or two was the expectation. He was the talent of a generation. […]
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Stats Highlights, 1st Week
*Sample size disclaimer — 3 games have been played, meaning the sample of data that we have to work with is extremely limited. However, the phrase “small sample size” in basketball is often misunderstood as “the data is useless.” The data isn’t useless — you simply can’t extrapolate with it. Statistics are still useful to describe what has […]
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The Transition to Transition
We’ve had just a few New Orleans Pelicans games to watch, so beyond Anthony Davis is good This team needs work There’s not too much to say with great confidence, especially when some important pieces are missing and returning, possibly soon. Watching games against just a 3 teams is bad enough, but when two of […]