New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for 113-99 win over the Toronto Raptors
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Toronto Raptors: Player Grades for the power forwards
Power Forwards
New Orleans Pelicans. ZION WILLIAMSON. C-. . Williamson
Zion Williamson had a quiet night, scoring just 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He turned the ball over a whopping six times, only went to the line four times (making one) and generally looked out of sync all game.
The Raptors tried everything to slow Zion down, packing the lane and double-teaming him with a guard every time he touched the ball. It got Zion flustered and he coughed it up quite a few times.
On the plus side: Toronto did EVERYTHING to try and stop Zion and he still finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. Not a bad “quiet” night.
Zion played better on the defensive end and was on the floor at the end of the game, so SVG clearly trusts him, even on an “off” night.
Defenses are going to have to choose their poison with the Pelicans. You may be able to slow one of Ingram or Zion on a given night, but it will be tough to stop both of them.
. Power Forward. New Orleans Pelicans. NICOLO MELLI. F
I should just copy and paste this.
I am still not sure what Nicolo Melli brings to this team. He is a liability on defense and since February of last year, can’t shoot.
He only played 14 minutes and was one of two Pelicans with a negative +/- after missing all four of his shots.
One of the early weaknesses for the Pelicans is their lack of depth at power forward and center. Hopefully, when Wenyen Gabriel is healthy he will challenge Melli for these minutes because right now Melli is not the answer.