Player Grades: New Orleans Pelicans fall to the Philadelphia 76ers at home
The New Orleans Pelicans may have once again topped their worst loss of the season, ceding a second-half lead to the Philadelphia 76ers and losing 99-88 at home.
88. 69. Final. 99. 93
The New Orleans Pelicans are at a crossroads. It was the story of the week, here and elsewhere, that the 76ers’ successful rebuilding project made the Pelicans’ relative failures more glaring. Additionally, the team’s struggles over the past two weeks made this game particularly magnified.
And the Pelicans lost. There’s no sense in over-emphasizing the result of one game, but with the Pelicans playing five of their next seven games on the road over 12 days, a decision could soon be made on the job status of any of the decision-makers. Alvin Gentry and Dell Demps should be concerned, if for some reason they weren’t already.
C. We’re expecting too much out of Tim Frazier at this point. Part of that is the solid play he exhibited over the first couple weeks of the season, but part of it is the lack of other options, so it’s hard to blame Frazier for failing to live up to expectation. But tonight, he lost track of Sergio Rodriguez repeatedly, allowing Rodriguez to make four threes from a variety of sitatuions.. PG. New Orleans Pelicans. TIM FRAZIER
New Orleans Pelicans. BUDDY HIELD. D. Buddy Hield has done little to maintain a spot in the rotation once the guys he’s playing for (E’Twaun Moore and Jrue Holiday) return. He shot 2-12 overall today, and a had more than a couple boneheaded/tentative moments. Who would have thought after the dominant scoring season in his senior year that confidence would be Hield’s biggest obstacle as a rookie?. SG
I was pleased with what Hill did tonight on both ends. He continued to display the positive signs of progress on the offensive end. Alvin Gentry has continually worked to make Hill comfortable on that end, and it appears giving him the green light off of rebounds or driving lanes has helped give him confidence. The numbers still aren’t reflecting that improvement, but he’s looked better. On defense, he held the versatile Robert Covington to 7 points on 9 shots. My fantasy team suffered, but my heart smiled.. SF/PF. New Orleans Pelicans. SOLOMON HILL. B+
B. Tonight was not the sort of performance you expect from your superstar when he goes up against a rookie challenging his throne. Sure, there were the typical 26 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, but there were problems all night long. Davis struggled defensively against Ersan Ilyasova throughout the first and fourth quarters, begged for shooting foul calls all night, and failed to lead the team to victory. The 76ers at home is a game you notch as a win in October when you tally the schedule– due in part to Davis’s shortcomings, that W became a 13-point L.. PF/C. New Orleans Pelicans. ANTHONY DAVIS
I don’t want to talk about Alexis Ajinca. Eight years into the 28-year-old’s career, there are still inconsistencies and surprises throughout the course of a single possession. He made a jumper to open the game before earning his second foul about three minutes into the game. The rest of the contest included: An easy botched pass from Tim Frazier in the third, a couple uncalled loose-ball fouls, and a nice finish around Embiid early in the fourth. Who knows what to make of this guy?. PF/C. New Orleans Pelicans. ALEXIS AJINCA. C
B+. Are you enjoying the Omer Asik: Sometimes Good Role Player experience? I am not, but tonight was the positive half of “sometimes”. Considering it came against the extremely talented Joel Embiid, his performance should earn him some love from Pelicans fans. Almost another double-double, but no luck.. C. New Orleans Pelicans. OMER ASIK
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C-. I joked on Twitter tonight that I momentarily forgot that Jones played for the Pelicans, but I honestly can’t remember a game he’s impacted positively since he scored 26 in the Orlando Magic game (where he started in Davis’s stead) a few weeks ago. Jones struggled against the Sixers’ second unit frontcourt of Dario Saric and Richaun Holmes, and was a frequent ball-stopper on offense. Can’t happen with such little offensive talent on the court most of the time.. PF/C. New Orleans Pelicans. TERRENCE JONES
LANGSTON GALLOWAY. B-. Another strong shooting performance out of Galloway. It’s really all you can ask out of him at this point, considering how admirably he’s lifted the offense as the second (!) option on a lot of nights. 19 points on 16 shots in 28 minutes is remarkable efficiency. Problems containing Nik Stauskas in the second half bump his grade down slightly, but blaming that entirely on him would be silly.. G. New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans Pelicans. ANTHONY BROWN. D+. There’s no getting around a 0-7 shooting night, but Brown continues to show a positive impact on the Pelicans’ defense. There were several possessions where this showed, but one in particular stands out: In the third quarter, Anthony Davis rotated over to double-team Joel Embiid, and Brown quickly reacted by covering for Davis’s guy and then back out to an open shooter behind the arc when Davis recovered. Nice.. SG/SF
Next: Anthony Davis had body and mind challenged by Oklahoma City Thunder
Final Observations:
- You read it right up there: Langston Galloway was the second-best offensive player on the floor tonight. That’s an indictment of Buddy Hield’s early-season development and Dell Demps’ offseason strategy.
- Anthony Davis has to stop looking for foul calls on mid-range jumpers. That’s such an inconsistent call from referees, and it’s a hard one to judge. You can’t count on it, especially when you’re already so good at making them without help.
- The defense remains a strength, and it is improving.