Despite having what is literally one of the worst seasons in NBA history, the 76ers managed to dismantle the shattered New Orleans Pelicans 107-93.
This 76ers team is one of the worst teams in the entire history of the NBA. Additionally, they are one of the worst teams in the entire NBA missing their leading scorer, Jahlil Okafor, to injury. The Pelicans are by no means stocked full of fire power, but It’s hard to consider this win anything but an upset when you consider the historically low bar the 76ers have set.
MVP: Carl Landry
Carl Landry is about to mess around and earn himself a max contract. The man put up 22 points on 9/10 shooting from the floor in just 26 minutes, and didn’t even miss a shot until the 4th quarter. He also grabbed 9 rebounds, had two steals, and was +19 during his time on the court. At one point, this crazy monster of a man decided to do a turnaround post-hook fall-away shot which he was fouled on… and still made. Luke Babbitt must have been flirting with Landry’s girl or something, because he took this game personally. He led the insanely valiant charge in the 3rd quarter to put the game out of reach for the Pelicans.
LVP: Toney Douglas
You know your guard situation is rough when you find yourself saying things like “man I’m so jealous the 76ers have T.J. McConnell and Isaiah Canaan” with zero sarcasm in your voice. Douglas shot 3/12 from the floor tonight, 1/4 from deep, had just one measly assists, and was a -16 during his time on the floor, despite the fact that none of the other starters were worse than a -8. He spent the whole game firing up insane shots and forcing looks which simply weren’t there. On the other hand, the 76ers guards played with the rhythm and poise and made him look like a first year rookie who was getting frazzled and lost on the court.
X-factor: The 76ers bench
The 76ers bench scored 59 points, while the Pelicans’ bench scored just 27. Led by tonight’s merciless MVP Carl Landry, and some solid performances from Hollis Thompson and Nic Stauskas, they simply outworked the Pelicans and threw out more and more fire power until the Pelicans finally caved. New Orleans had just three players total available on the bench, so it’s not a surprise they probably got overworked and were tired out by the end of the game. In all fairness though, Brett Brown probably out-coached Alvin Gentry as well.
Turning point: Third quarter run
In the third quarter the Pelicans lost any semblance of control. The 76ers were hitting everything, controlling to pace, and forcing the Pelicans into tough shots and bad decisions. Nerlens Noel stepped up his defense, and Carl Landry did his crazy lil’ thang and started hitting stupid shots all over the court. The word I would use is probably “helpless” since the Pelicans looked like they genuinely wanted to put up a fight, put didn’t have the man-power.
Defining moment: Carl Landry’s threes
Yup. Carl Landry hit 2/2 threes tonight in his 26 minutes. A career 25% shooter from deep who hasn’t even made one in 5 of his 8 total seasons in the league went 2/2 on the Pelicans and was laughing the whole time. The announcers couldn’t believe it either, you could hear in their voices they genuinely felt bad for the Pelicans.
That was…necessary.
The 6th pick seems like a certainty at this point, but it could easily turn into the 8th pick if the Pelicans continue winning useless games. The Knicks and the Kings are both dangerously close to the Pelicans in won totals, and if the Pelicans were to drop below 6th and the team who got the 6th best odds won the lottery I might have to set my television on fire and leave the country. It was a rough loss in terms on scale, but probably a necessary evil in the end.