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.
New Orleans Pelicans: Eric Bledsoe vs. Jrue Holiday
Overreaction #2
Eric Bledsoe is a better fit with the Pelicans than Jrue Holiday!
Again, it’s obviously too early to say this after one game but Bledsoe may actually be a better fit with the Pelicans than Holiday.
I was skewered last week when I suggested on Twitter that Bledsoe was not a huge drop off from Holiday and I stand by it. It also looks like Bledsoe could be a better fit.
Lonzo Ball, Ingram and Zion are the Pels primary playmakers and Bledsoe is perfectly happy playing off the ball and letting the game come to him.
He was 4-of-8 from the 3-point line and hit a couple that really stopped the bleeding when the Pels were struggling in the first half.
He added six assists, played pesky defense with a block and a steal and ended the game with 18 points.
If this is the type of effort we can expect from Bledsoe every night then the Pels won’t really miss Holiday and their young playmakers will have more opportunity to shine.
New Orleans Pelicans: Free throws are a huge problem
Overreaction #3
Free throws are going to kill the Pelicans!
I know it is only one game, but this trend goes back to last season and there is no sign that it is going to end.
It was well into the third quarter before anyone on the Pelicans made two free throws in a row. It’s not just one player, the whole team is getting in on the act.
Not only did the Pelicans only shoot 20 free throws overall, but they only made ten of them. I did think the Pelicans were the victims of some non-calls, especially in the first half, but they didn’t capitalize on the free throws that they did get.
The Pelicans shot 45.2 percent from the 3-point line, where they had defenders trying to stop them, and only 50 percent from the free-throw line.
The 3-point shooting was great but it is not sustainable. Getting to the free-throw line is and the Pels should live at the line with Zion Williamson racking up fouls on the other team.
This is going to be something to watch because eventually, it is going to cost them games.
New Orleans Pelicans: How Toronto slowed down Zion Williamson
Overreaction #4
Zion Williamson can be stopped!
Ok, he can’t be stopped, but he can be slowed.
Toronto obviously came into this game with a plan to stop Zion and make the rest of the Pels beat them. They did a good job on Zion but didn’t do much to stop anyone else, so Zion’s quiet night didn’t matter.
Toronto packed the lane and doubled Zion with a guard every time he touched the ball. Zion turned it over six times and just never found any kind of rhythm in the game.
They made an effort to limit the Pelicans’ points in the paint (which they did), daring the Pels to shoot 3-pointers. The difference is that the Pels moved the ball better in the second half, got better looks and knocked them down.
Zion ended the game with only 15 points but found other ways to contribute, adding 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. He only took nine shots and made seven of them so it is not like the Raptors completely shut him down.
But they did slow him down and give the rest of the league a blueprint for how to stop Zion from getting easy buckets.
Zion will eventually get his and the Pels have to be happy with how the rest of the team stepped up, particularly Ingram whose max deal is already looking good.
It was a solid team win and a great way to start the holidays! Enjoy!