New Orleans Pelicans: Player Grades in 109-99 Win Over Memphis

New Orleans Pelicans: Player Grades for the shooting guards.

Shooting Guards

Nickeil Alexander-Walker played hard in mop up duty against the Clippers and it earned him some minutes in the first half. He only played five minutes overall, but I like the fact that Gentry rewarded effort after his team showed so little against the Clippers. NAW didn’t do anything when he was in there, but I like the thinking behind it. It’s good to teach the young guys that minutes have to be earned and effort matters.

J.J. Redick did what he gets paid to do last night which is to hit shots. He ended the game with 16 points in 29 minutes, both of which led the bench. He hit three of his seven three-pointers and I might have given him an “A-” had he not missed two free throws down the stretch. Et Tu, JJ? The entire team stunk from the line, but seeing Redick miss two in a row was troubling. Let’s hope terrible free throw shooting is not contagious.

This was the Jrue Holiday we were all hoping to see. Holiday’s defense early on set the tone for the Pelicans, and though he only ended the game with 15 points, three assists and four rebounds, he was one of the most important players for the Pelicans. Holiday hounded Morant, deflecting passes, tying him up and forcing him to shoot from behind the arc, where he went one for ten. This was part of the Pels’ game plan and it worked, as Memphis had tired legs and were leaving shots short all night, making only 12-43 from long-range.