The New Orleans Pelicans lost their playoff game of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League to the Miami Heat 81-77.
The New Orleans Pelicans held tight with the Miami Heat all game. However, when it mattered most, the youngsters crumbled.
The Pelicans were knocked out of the bracket tournament of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League with a 81-77 loss to the Miami Heat.
This means the Pelicans will have to wait until Friday to play their final game of the summer.
New Orleans held a six point lead with 2:50 left in the game. However, the Pelicans failed to score the rest of the way, letting the Heat finish the game on a 10-0 run to knock out New Orleans from the championship bracket.
Buddy Hield had another painful struggle shooting the basketball, finishing the game shooting 5-17 from the field and 1-7 from behind the arc. He put up 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, four turnovers and four fouls. On offense, this was the same as we’ve seen before: A huge struggle to deal with opposing defenses focusing on him.
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His ball-handling has become a place of worry, as he’s struggled to use it to find good shots on the floor. Aside from that, his passing and off-ball movement has improved as the summer league has gone on. When he used his speed to get to the lane, his vision to find the open man shined. When he wasn’t passing, he found the small window of opportunity to get the shot in at the rim.
On defense, things have gotten much better from game one. He played strong on defense, making it tough for the Miami guards to get shots they have had in previous games. His quick feet on defense and his ability to crash the defensive glass is a positive to look at, outside of his shooting woes. When he gets to play next to the starters of the Pelicans, the massive pressure release will let him play more freely and effectively.
While Hield may not have lived up to summer league expectations, Chieck Diallo overdid his originally hype going in. Diallo dominated the smaller Heat bigs with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. He also used his size to add 12 rebounds, four of those on the offensive end, to his spectacular game. He did chalk up five fouls and two turnovers in his 33 minutes on the floor, yet still came out of tonight’s game with a lot to be proud of.
Diallo took full advantage of his height, crashing the boards at every opportunity and getting his hands up on any shot that came to the rim. It’s still a question if he will be able to translate that at the NBA level with the lack of build, but the hype is definitely on the uprise for Diallo.
As far as the rest of the cast, only two other players had good games tonight. One has been a regular on decent performances, while the other is a new surprise who played well.
David Lighty Jr once again had a good performance with ten points on 3-7 shooting. He failed to bring much to the table other than his scoring, but his ability to space the floor helped the Pelicans make their runs to stay in the contest. His defense was par for the course, which worked well against the Heat’s key scorers. He did well. The question is if it will be enough to make an NBA team.
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The biggest surprise was Alex Olah. Because of McMorrow’s struggles, Olah saw the start tonight. He lived up to the starting center role, scoring 14 points on 7-8 shooting and a rebound. Sure, other than scoring he had no impact on this game.
However, the Pelicans have been struggling to get the ball in the basket. He got himself in the paint at the right spot for driving players to pass and made his shots up close. It probably won’t get him a job in the league, but it will certainly get him a look from European teams going forward. He did well for himself tonight.
Larry Drew II once again struggled to handle the opposing point guard with nine points, six rebounds and three assists. Sure, the numbers are good, however his matchup in Briante Weber dominated him for most of the contest. It was another decent stat performance that lacked in difference making overall.
Anthony “Cat” Barber did not get the chance to make his statement tonight. In the second quarter, Cat pump faked his defender to try and get an open shot. Unfortunately, when he turned to look up towards the rim, his defenders leg hit him square in the face. He was helped off the court and did not return to the game.
Damien Inglis looked out of place all night. He made two shots and got a rebound, but also turned the ball over three times. It’s clear he’s trying to work his way back from injuries, but it’s hard to find anything out of his four games so far that merits a contract for next season.
Ryan Boatright and K.T. Harrell both saw over ten minutes, however could not find any rhythm on the floor. Boatright finished 1-6 from the field and had two steals. His defense was okay, but didn’t help the Pelicans win tonight. Harrell finished with two rebounds and two assists, yet had troubles on the defensive end.
Nick Minnerath, Michale Kyser, Vladimir Jankovic and Jameel McKay all saw less than ten minutes on the floor and made very little impact. Kyser’s three rebounds and highlight dunk over a Heat defender was the best memory of the late bunch, but nothing else stood out.
The New Orleans Pelicans will play one final game in the consolation side of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League. The game is set for Friday at 3:30 PM CST. Their opponent will be the D-League Select Team.