New Orleans Pelicans: Player Grades in 122-114 Loss to Lakers

The New Orleans Pelicans kept it close but ultimately couldn’t stop the brilliance of LeBron, as the Lakers swept the season series.

If the Lakers didn’t have LeBron James, then they would probably never beat the New Orleans Pelicans.

The problem is that they do.

LeBron was brilliant again, carving up the Pelicans for a 36 point, 13 assist, 12 rebound triple-double.

The Pelicans tried just about everything but had no answer for the King, who seemed to always get a bucket or make a perfect pass exactly when the Lakers needed it.

The New Orleans Pelicans threw everyone from Jrue Holiday to Josh Hart on James but it didn’t matter, as the Lakers were able to pull away late, even without power forward Anthony Davis.

The New Orleans Pelicans got big games from Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the size and veteran savvy of the Lakers, who seem to have the number of the young Pelicans.

Here are the player grades for another tough loss to Los Angeles.

Point Guards

Ball pushed the pace against the Lakers and was able to consistently get out in transition for easy buckets, which was a big part of the New Orleans Pelicans’ success.

They clearly wanted to get early offense as often as possible to keep the Lakers from getting their stifling half court defense set.

Ball played fast and aggressive, ending the game with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, including this beautiful lob to Zion.

Ball’s only problem was once again his shooting.

He missed several wide-open 3-point shots and ended the night just 1 of 7 from behind the arc. With J.J. Redick sidelined with a hamstring injury, the New Orleans Pelicans needed Ball to hit a few of those shots.

Ball flashed the type of leadership and passing that can carry the team down the stretch, but he needs to hit shots and last night he did not.

Shooting Guards

A lot has been made of Holiday’s defense (or attempted defense) on LeBron over their last two meetings. Holiday was clearly gassed from guarding the much bigger James in their last matchup, so coach Alvin Gentry gave him a reprieve and went with a more “defense by committee” approach.

It didn’t help.

Holiday finished the game with just 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting, adding six assists and five rebounds.

Holiday didn’t guard LeBron as much but it didn’t seem to matter, as he still struggled to get into a rhythm on the offensive end.

Hart is one of the players who needs to step up in Redick’s absence.

He started the game strong, grabbing boards and playing decent defense on LeBron. He was at least able to force James to settle for fadeaways at times and was clearly part of a revamped defensive strategy for Gentry.

He finished the night with only seven points, but did grab six rebounds, which was key against the larger Lakers who killed the Pelicans for 14 offensive rebounds in the last meeting.

Hart again shot just 1 of 3 from 3-point range and the Pelicans will need him to shoot more and better with Redick out with an injury.

E’Twaun Moore is another bench player who will need to step up in Redick’s absence. He played only 16 minutes but was able to notch five points, three rebounds and three assists, while hitting his only 3-point attempt.

Moore’s shooting and veteran leadership will be important down the stretch, as he is sure to see increased minutes and shots.

Forwards

Zion was a force of nature Sunday night, pouring in a career-high 35 points on 12 of 16 shooting in just 33 minutes, including a couple of his thunderous signature dunks.

The superstar rookie also grabbed seven rebounds and was able to hit 11 of his 13 free throw attempts. Zion’s only problem was turnovers.

The rookie coughed it up six times and looked to be fatigued late in the game after carrying the Pelicans for three quarters.

Zion also needs to improve his footwork on defense, as James was able to blow by him a few times on a night when the Pelicans really could have used his size and strength against LeBron.

In the end, it was actually too much Zion and not enough of everyone else. The rookie did his part but didn’t get much help from his teammates.

Brandon Ingram struggled mightily against the Lakers on a night when the Pelicans really needed his offense.

Ingram shot 5 of 23 from the floor including just 1 of 9 from 3-point range. This had to be a disappointing night for Ingram, who had been playing well enough to start drawing some lofty comparisons.

Ingram did a decent job trying to slow down LeBron when he finally got his turn. His height seemed to bother James slightly, but Ingram also racked up the fouls, including a foolish touch foul late in the game that happened as the shot clock expired.

Ingram was clearly trying to press against his old team and had a bad night, but the young All-Star showed heart and kept after it even though his shots were not falling.

Nicolo Melli has had the hot hand of late, but he couldn’t hit the ocean against the Lakers on Sunday. Melli shot just 1 of 7 from 3-point range, ending the night with 10 points.

Melli has been getting a lot of open looks with all of the attention given to Zion and Ingram and up until last night he was knocking them down with regularity.

Melli didn’t add much on the defensive end. This was a night when the New Orleans Pelicans needed everyone to step up and try to slow down LeBron.

Melli is not a great individual defender but his size might have at least deterred James, who did whatever he wanted against the smaller Pelicans’ defenders.

Melli did manage to get in Dwight Howard’s head and got the Lakers’ center to commit a few silly fouls out of frustration.

But Melli’s real job is to knock down shots and he didn’t do it. Ball, Ingram and Melli shot a combined 3 of 23 from 3-point range, which was the difference in the game.

Centers

Derrick Favors’ nine offensive rebounds was one of the things that kept the Pelicans in the game. Favors was able to avoid foul trouble and show that his is the anchor of the Pelicans’ defense.

Without Davis to worry about in the paint, Favors was able to grab 14 rebounds, and add 12 points, a steal and a block.

But Favors took too many shots, going just 5 of 12 from the field and definitely forcing the issue at times when he should have looked to kick it out.

The New Orleans Pelicans dropped a very winnable game against the Lakers in what could be a first round playoff preview. The young Pelicans took their lumps against the veteran Lakers, but learned a lot about themselves as a team.

As the Pelicans learn how to put teams away these types of losses will start turning into wins.

In the meantime all they can do is appreciate the basketball genius of LeBron, learn from their mistakes and continue their run at the Western Conference Playoffs Tuesday against the Timberwolves.