Pelica Debrief
Fansided

Observations from New Orleans Pelicans Preseason Loss to Houston Rockets

By Matt Cianfrone

facebooktwitterreddit

On Monday night a group of basketball players wearing New Orleans Pelicans uniforms took the floor to play a preseason game against the Houston Rockets. While the schedule said what the uniforms did and that it was in fact the Pelicans on the floor against Houston, the roster of available players didn’t as the team that was representing New Orleans was without Omer Asik, Alexis Ajinca, Tyreke Evans, Norris Cole, Quincy Pondexter and Anthony Davis for injury related reasons in the first five and rest in the case of Davis. Of course, the game still kind of counted in the way that preseason games only matter a bit, so it felt proper to write-up some thoughts from the game.

Matt: 

  • I wanted Bo McCalebb to make the team badly, as his run with Macedonia in Eurobasket 2011 earned him a real NBA shot. Unfortunately, that player is gone as Bo has lost enough athleticism to make finishing inside difficult. Bo is a small guy so he needed that lost bounce. He had no issue getting inside on Monday night, as his spin move was great, but once he got there he struggled. 2-9 from the field with four turnovers just won’t cut it.
  • Kendrick Perkins tip dunking was not something I expected to see tonight. Perkins missing a dunk wasn’t surprising though.
  • Chris Douglas-Roberts is terrible. Turnovers, missed shots, bad defense. You name it and he did it and has done it all preseason. Which is a shame for a guy who many (including me) thought could make the team.
  • Jrue Holiday was excellent in his minutes. He was just fully in control at all times and it was fun to watch.
  • It feels like Eric Gordon is going to lead this team in most frustrating shots attempted this season. He was just launching shots early on.
  • Ryan Anderson looks healthier than he was last season. He is moving around the floor better, knocking down shots more often and is back in his old offensive rebounding mode where he bodies people out-of-the-way and then grabs the rebound instead of tipping it a few times. He did it to Clint Capela once tonight and Capela is a great athlete. It was impressive.
  • The amount of times the Pelicans ran after makes was fun. With Holiday and eventually Tyreke Evans to push the ball down the floor, Anthony Davis should get a bunch of easy buckets this season simply by beating every other big down the floor after makes.
  • Kendrick Perkins rolled into a ton of clean allies tonight out of the pick-and-roll. While part of that was the defense having no fear of Perkins, part of it was the system. Omer Asik is going to get plenty of scoring chances this year. Hopefully he can convert.
  • It feels like Dante Cunningham is always about to dunk on someone. Then he starts twisting and turning and makes layups hard on himself and misses. It gets kind of frustrating to watch at times.
  • Just over a week away from real basketball. I can’t wait.

Chris: 

Chris Douglas-Roberts is not good at basketball anymore

His hair is still great.

More from Pelicans News

Nathan: 

  • I have no idea who makes the team. Mostly because I have no idea how many rotation spots need to be filled. The conflicting injury reports have me turned around, so I’ll hold off on the predictions. That being said, Chris Douglas-Roberts will not make the team.
  • Jrue Holiday looked good in his playing time tonight. That’s always good to see.
  • Somehow Perkins found a way to make a few positive plays, and that gives me hope that Asik, an actual NBA center, can do well in the new system.
  • I realized the possibility of Cole, Robinson, Gee, Cunningham and Perkins sharing the floor in a game at the beginning of the season could end up being very real. That terrifies me beyond all imagination. Please basketball gods, do not do this to us.
  • This was a ludicrously sloppy game. As Matt posted about, Holiday passed the ball off of Perkins (is it his head, shoulder or back?). That really is this game summed up in one play.
  • The team collapsed in the fourth, but I’m putting little to no weight towards the actual score of the game.
  • I’m all about sitting Anthony Davis for the remainder of the preseason. This team cannot afford a single injury and certainly not one to The Brow.

Next: Gentry Dropped Encouraging News Pregame

More from Pelican Debrief

Home/Pelicans News