Grades: New Orleans Pelicans can’t weather storm, fall to Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- JANUARY 24: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against the New Orleans Pelicans on January 24, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- JANUARY 24: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against the New Orleans Pelicans on January 24, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)

The New Orleans Pelicans were short 4 of their most important players and were unable to get the job done on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder despite a valiant effort.

Playing a top three team in the Western Conference on their home court is a tough enough job as it is. Combine that with 4 of your 5 starters sitting out, and it’s darn near impossible to pull off a victory. This was the situation tonight as the New Orleans Pelicans took on the formidable Oklahoma City Thunder. As you would expect, the contest did not go the Pellies’ way. It was a respectable effort, but ultimately not enough.

Clipped Wings

The Pelicans were short Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Nikola Mirotic, and E’Twaun Moore going into tonight’s matchup, leaving Jrue Holiday to be the lone regular-starter left. The makeshift lineup New Orleans went with did their best to keep it as close as possible and scrapped their way to a tie game after one quarter, but the healthy Thunder proved too much to handle down the stretch. New Orleans got it within single digits after falling behind, but just couldn’t quite pull off a win.

2 Superstars > 0

OKC’s prolific wing, Paul George, was just announced as a starter for the Western Conference in this year’s All Star Game. The 8th best scorer in the league got off to a hot start as he nailed three triples in the first quarter. His co-star, Russell Westbrook, nearly had a triple-double in the first half. Going up against a duo like this without the help of Anthony Davis was understandably too much for the Pelicans to handle in this one as both guys ended up with big games.

Inferior Interior

When you’re short the league’s second best shot blocker, your defense close to the basket is clearly going to decline. Aside from Paul George, no one on either team could buy a bucket from range early on. Because of this, OKC started looking to the paint where they noticed a clear advantage with the interior being defended by Jahlil Okafor, a dude who’s not necessarily known for his defensive prowess. The Pelicans put up tons of points in the paint themselves, but their defense was just not good enough down low tonight for it to matter.

The Pelicans are back in action Saturday night as they defend home court against DeMar DeRozan and the San Antonio Spurs.