Pelica Debrief
Fansided

New Orleans Pelicans Player Grades: Depleted Pelicans fall short against Indiana Pacers

By Rick Stone

Mar 24, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik (3) grabs a rebound in front of Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik (3) grabs a rebound in front of Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New Orleans Pelicans ended tonight short of the victory after falling to just eight healthy players due to injuries across the roster.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ injury situation highlighted tonight’s loss to the Indiana Pacers in a big way.

The Pelicans added Jrue Holiday to their list of injuries as he suffered a left toe injury. While a valiant effort was put up by the injury prone Pelicans, they could not outlast a Pacers team playing well and effective.

New Orleans cut a fairly large-deficit for most of the contest to just six with just over a minute to go, but could not overcome the Pacers defense all night. That and Indiana’s 45.6% shooting was too much for the Pelicans to overcome.

Alexis Ajinca led the Pelicans in scoring with 22 points to go with his nine rebounds. Tim Frazier, Alonzo Gee and Toney Douglas also finished over 10 points for the game.

Rookie big Myles Turner led the Pacers in scoring with 24 points to go along with 16 rebounds and three blocks.

92. 100. 84. 69. Final

PG. New Orleans Pelicans. TONEY DOUGLAS. B. <b><a href=

C-. <strong><a href=. SF. New Orleans Pelicans. ALONZO GEE

DANTE CUNNINGHAM. B-. <strong><a href=. SF. New Orleans Pelicans

OMER ASIK. D. <strong><a href=. C. New Orleans Pelicans

C. <strong><a href=. C. New Orleans Pelicans. ALEXIS AJINCA

TIM FRAZIER. B-. <strong><a href=. PG. New Orleans Pelicans

C. <b><a href=. SG/SF. New Orleans Pelicans. LUKE BABBITT

New Orleans Pelicans. KENDRICK PERKINS. C.  <strong><a href=. C

Other Observations:

  • The New Orleans Pelicans did not get dominated on the glass tonight, which is a big sign going forward. The Pels lost the boards by a slim margin of 41-38. That could’ve been a lot worse if New Orleans did not shoot the ball well or the Pacers bigs found positions to go crazy on the offensive glass. The Pelicans only gave up three offensive boards on the night. Find positives to work with.
  • The biggest worry with a lot of these Pelicans seeing major time is their tendency to foul too often. That was not the case tonight, as the Pacers only got 15 free-throw attempts on the night. Seeing that after playing against aggressive, attacking guards like Paul George and Monta Ellis is a positive sign.
  • If there’s an area the Pelicans need to improve, it’s ball movement. New Orleans finished with just 15 assists on 35 makes tonight. Sure, the inexperience has a lot to do with that, but New Orleans could have gotten much better looks all night with more effective ball movement.
  • This was an interesting game. For the believers in the tank, this was a positive fight that ended with a loss that’ll help minor percentage odds. For those looking for development, there’s a lot to see with guys like Tim Frazier and Alexis Ajinca that the team could consider going forward. The New Orleans Pelicans fought hard until the end and fell short to a probable-playoff team in the East.

Next: Tim Frazier has been impressive

The New Orleans Pelicans will look to find victory lane once again Saturday as they head back to New Orleans to play the Toronto Raptors. Tip is scheduled for 6:00 PM CST.

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