Grades for New Orleans Pelicans blowout loss to Portland 114-88
By Rick Stone
After Portland played a three-OT game against the San Antonio Spurs last night, it looked as though the New Orleans Pelicans could take advantage of the schedule.
That…was not the case. Portland had their way all night as the Pelicans were completely dominated in every facet of the game in a 114-88 loss to the Blazers. The defense for New Orleans became their Achilles Heel tonight, as they let the Blazers shoot 53.3% from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Damian Lillard also had a solid game with 17 points and 7 assists.
Austin Rivers led the Pelicans in scoring with 21 points on 5-9 shooting.
C. <strong><a href=. PG. New Orleans Pelicans. JRUE HOLIDAY
B-. <strong><a href=. SF/PG/SG. New Orleans Pelicans. TYREKE EVANS
SF. New Orleans Pelicans. LUKE BABBITT. C. <strong><a href=
B-. <strong><a href=. PF/C. New Orleans Pelicans. ANTHONY DAVIS
C. New Orleans Pelicans. OMER ASIK. C-. <strong><a href=
B. <strong><a href=. PF/SF. New Orleans Pelicans. RYAN ANDERSON
DANTE CUNNINGHAM. B. <strong><a href=. SF/PF. New Orleans Pelicans
For all the negatives in this game, the bright spot had to be <strong><a href=. PG/SG. New Orleans Pelicans. AUSTIN RIVERS. A
C+. <strong><a href=. PG. New Orleans Pelicans. RUSS SMITH
C. <strong><a href=. C. New Orleans Pelicans. ALEXIS AJINCA
Other Observations:
- Throughout the whole game, turnovers were a rampant problem for New Orleans. The Pelicans ended the night with 17 turnovers, with the Blazers scoring 24 points off of those turnovers. Too many mistakes kill runs. And the poor decisions destroyed any chance of a Pelicans comeback.
- The Pelicans might not have won a lot of categories in this game, yet the Pelicans beat out the Blazers in FT attempts 28-15, mostly thanks to Austin Rivers, who had 12 FT attempts on his own.
- While the Blazers only put up 114 points, 94 of those points came in the first three quarters. Portland got whatever they wanted on the floor in the first three frames, and the Pelicans did nothing to try and stop them. The defense is a weakness this team has had whenever they play contending teams. It showed tonight.
- The bench was actually the brighter side of the Pelicans tonight. While they didn’t get an advantage against the Blazers, they did outperform the starters with 60 of the Pelicans 88 points on the night. AD and Jrue combined for 6-26 from the field for only 13 points. Not a strong night for the starting unit.
- The Pelicans will look for a quick rebound tomorrow night against the Oklahoma City Thunder in OKC. The good news is the Pelicans will not have to go against Kevin Durant, who has already been ruled out of the game. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM CST