The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Toronto Raptors 113-99 to kick off the 2020-21 season.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the New Orleans Pelicans were able to pull away late to defeat the Toronto Raptors 113-99 behind a strong second half.
The Pelicans had to overcome an ugly 27 turnovers and ten missed free throws with a barrage of 3-point shots and solid team defense.
Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe were both impressive and already look like good fits. Brandon Ingram was just short of a triple-double and put the team on his back in the second half.
Josh Hart and J.J. Redick were sparks off the bench and the Pelicans’ overall team defense was excellent in the second half.
It was a nice team win for the Pelicans on a night when they didn’t even play their best and Zion Williamson had a quiet night, which has to be encouraging for Stan Van Gundy. If he can get his team to clean up the turnovers and MAKE A FREE THROW, they are going to be a handful.
Here are four overreactions to the first win of the season.
New Orleans Pelicans: Overreactions to win over the Toronto Raptors
Overreaction #1
The Pelicans will have a top-10 defense!
Ok, it’s way too early to predict but it’s a promising sign that they held the Toronto Raptors to under 100 points.
The Raptors were the league’s best fast-break team last season, which shows one of SVG’s defensive philosophies (getting back on defense) is already taking root.
The Pelicans held the Raptors to just 16 fast-break points.
Another focus is limiting points in the paint and the Raptors had just 36, which is another positive sign. The Pelicans also won the defensive rebounding battle, closing out defensive possessions in the second half.
If these things continue the Pelicans have a chance to have a top-ten defense. It’s only one game, but the signs are good.