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Five Takeaways Monty Williams Will Take From This Season
To get this out of the way, Pelicans Head-Coach Monty Williams will be back next season. Whether you think he should or not does not matter, your opinion on this will not affect the outcome. Maybe after next season, but as of right now it bears little in the discussion of building for this basketball […]
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Pelicans Lose a Grind-It-Out Affair to the Timberwolves
The narrative about tonight could be any number of things. It could be that once Anthony Davis was ruled out the New Orleans Pelicans stood no chance against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Or it could be that the Pelicans played hard against a Wolves team which really didn’t look into the game and shot a lackluster […]
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Game On: Pelicans @ Timberwolves
The focus could be on the New Orleans Pelicans attempting to win four straight games. I say could be because (as I said yesterday) this is all about Anthony Davis right now with his two dominant performances on both ends of the court. Tonight, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Davis will have a a slightly tougher […]
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Pelicans Beat Cavaliers, Anthony Davis Shines
As I said in the preview the rest of the season for the New Orleans Pelicans is all about Anthony Davis. But do you want to know what was so great about the 100-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers? Even with Anthony Davis’ huge game, it wasn’t actually all about him. Nearly everyone who played […]
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A Tale of Two Halves
It will surprise no one to learn that the Pelicans struggle in the second half of games—being outscored by a total of 40 points over the final two periods. I decided to look at the NBA.com/stats page and sort the splits by half. This is a high level look that focuses on the basic offensive […]
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In the NO Podcast Episode 163: Gordon Vs Evans
In our first non-mini Mini podcast, Michael and I break down Evans versus Gordon in a battle royale! Who goes, who stays, who is better at help defense? Who is better coming off screens? Who does Michael think has a higher ceiling? It’s all Pelicans Shooting Guards, all the time! Except for Austin Rivers. Poor […]
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Offensive Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
This offseason was one of changes. From the New Orleans Hornets to the New Orleans Pelicans; Trades and free agent signings revamped the roster; Even the New Orleans Arena got a makeover. But there was another change hinted this offseason that fans needed to wait on. The team’s offense. Head coach Monty Williams wanted to […]
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In the NO Podcast Episode 159: Tyreke Evans, Pelican Alpha Guard?
Michael and I talk about Tyreke Evans recovering his form, which of the three guards appears to be the alpha Guard, the Closing Five, which lineups are good, which aren’t, Brian Roberts losing his minutes to Rivers, and bemoan just how tough the Western Conference is. Oh, and we also talk obscure stats, preview the […]
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Pelicans Rally, Beat Cavaliers
“We gotta stay in-between the highs and lows.. cause it helps you think better. It helps you keep the season in perspective.” -Monty Williams after the game. It’s a good time to be even. After falling behind by as many as 12 points in the 4th quarter, the Pelicans rallied behind their new Big 5 […]
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What’s up with Tyreke?
When New Orleans acquired Tyreke Evans in a three-team trade that sent Greivis Vasquez to Sacramento and Robin Lopez to Portland, the move was met with a wide range of emotions. There was some pure excitement, some reserved excitement, and some pessimism due to the amount of his contract. The one thing that seemingly no […]
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Horns Set: Tyreke Time
In the last preseason game, I noticed an odd wrinkle in the Horns Set. As Jake has already mentioned, Horns is a staple of Monty’s offense. Last year, Monty ran almost every Horns set with two bigs at the elbows. In Tyreke’s first game since his injury, Monty ran a version of Horns with Tyreke and […]
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NBA Rank 2: It’s a Celebration
It’s time to celebrate. Davis is looking very much like the franchise player that New Orleans fans expected him to be, and national media finally appears to have arrived at the consensus opinion that he is going to be a star in the league. But of course, we all knew that, so why does this […]
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New Orleans Pelicans Win First Preseason Game, Lose Tyreke Evans
The first outing for the New Orleans Pelicans was a win on the scoreboard and a loss on the depth chart. With Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson not playing (Coach’s Decision), the Pelicans entered the game without key offensive cogs and a solid defender in Gordon. Then, after scoring his 7th point, Evans injured his […]
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Trew 2 the Game #7: Lucky Numbers
If you like the column, here’s some ways you can be a darling and help us out: – click one of the sharing buttons to the left. Facebook likes, Google Plus shares and Tweets are sweet – set a google calendar alert for every single Tuesday. Call it something like “Highlight of the week”, that […]
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Making the Leap
Yesterday, James Grayson took a look at the Pelican push for the playoffs. Today, I look at whether the leap that will be required of the Pelicans this season is feasible from a historical perspective. Can a team that finished with a 27-55 record and as the 5th worst team in the NBA make the jump to […]
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Playoff Contention Not A Guarantee for the New Orleans Pelicans
There is a great deal of excitement following the New Orleans Pelicans these days. Free-Agency brought in former rookie of the year Tyreke Evans. The draft presented an opportunity to pick up “All-Star” point-guard Jrue Holiday. Amongst the entire buzz there remain a lot of unanswered questions. Positivity is something new to the reformed basketball […]
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Paint Percentage
We need more paint.. lots more paint. Follow @palochak New Orleans finished ranked 15th (tied) in offensive efficiency, but despite having a respectably efficient offense, possessions were often stagnant and horrifying to watch. Possessions where the ball would slowly swing around the perimeter or the lead guard would get his momentum stopped before he […]
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Beneath the Screen: Spacing vs. Positioning
Since the 2013 NBA finals ended, much has been written about floor spacing and how important it is to NBA offenses. People look at the 3-point specialists of both the Spurs and Heat and talk about how these players are vital to spreading out a defense, making these shooters critical to their team’s success. With […]
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New Orleans Pelicans Introduce All-Star Guard Jrue Holiday
The New Orleans Pelicans finally introduce Jrue Holiday tonight at their complex on Airline Drive. Holiday was received from the Philadelphia 76’ers, along with rookie guard Pierre Jackson, in exchange for Nerlens Noel (the Pelicans’ 2013 first round draft pick (6th)) and the Pelicans 2014 first round draft pick. The pick reportedly has top 5 […]
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Weakside Eyes: The Art In Basketball
Image courtesy of John Robinson at Street Credible Art Basketball Riffs “Just as in life, basketball has its moments of chaos . . . you need to adapt to them” The New Orleans Pelicans have improved themselves in a most vital area of play in the NBA. Evans, Holiday, and Gordon will allow the Pelican […]