The New Orleans Pelicans didn’t show up against the Clippers.
They don’t get much uglier than the whooping the New Orleans Pelicans took last night.
The Clippers controlled the game from the opening tip, putting on a 3-point shooting display on their way to a team record 25 made three’s.
The Pelicans fell behind early and it just keep snowballing from there.
In the end, the Pelicans were undone by turnovers and 3-pointers, though there were certainly other areas of the game where they lacked. The Pels turned the ball over 18 times which led to 34 points for the Clippers, and the Clippers made 25 three’s to the Pelicans’ nine. There’s your game.
The Pelicans now have six games to turn it around, and we’re about to get an idea of what they are made of.
Here are the grades in the blowout loss to the Clippers. I hope I don’t run out of red ink.
Point Guards
Jackson was one of the “highlights” of the game for the Pelicans, though he still wasn’t very good. He made only five of 15 shots for 11 points, but at least played hard and brought energy off the bench. I liked the way Jackson continued to compete when most of the rest of the team had long given up. He may have earned himself a job with the Pels or someone else next year, as he did pull down five rebounds and added six assists. Jackson played hard, and pushed the pace in the first half, which gave the Pels a momentary boost. Jackson was one of only three Pelicans with a positive plus/minus. It’s too bad his energy wasn’t contagious.
Lonzo Ball came out and drained his first two shots and it looked like he was going to turn things around.
Then he missed yet another layup and didn’t make another shot all night. He finished two for six for seven points and had as many turnovers (3) as assists.
If this eight-game bubble was supposed to be Lonzo’s big coming out party, someone forgot to tell him because he has played without much spirit in these first two games.
It’s rare to see Lonzo Ball lack confidence but that is exactly what has seemed to happen so far. He’s played some tough opponents and had difficult defensive assignments, but we’ve seen none of Lonzo’s trademark swagger.
He can get it back in these last six games, but Lonzo needs to play with more urgency and energy. He had two woeful turnovers last night that weren’t anywhere near a Pelican and got down after he missed a couple of easy shots.
Lonzo needs to bounce back and show the Pels he’s a max guy who deserves a huge extension, which I 100% believe he is.