Some early issues were exposed for the New Orleans Pelicans in their 111-98 loss to the Miami Heat.
The New Orleans Pelicans suffered their first loss of the 2020-21 season, a 111-98 Christmas beating at the hands of the Miami Heat.
It’s far too early to overreact to one loss, especially when it came on the road to the defending Eastern Conference champions.
The Pelicans were winning early, fell behind by a lot, made a nice comeback but ultimately came up short.
The Pelicans don’t need to panic, but there have been some disturbing trends emerging that will be reflected in the grades.
New Orleans Pelicans: Point guard grades in loss to Miami Heat
Point Guards
Lonzo Ball had a poor offensive game, scoring just six points and adding six assists and three turnovers.
All eight of his shots were from behind the 3-point line and Lonzo only made two of them. He wasn’t aggressive taking it to the basket like he was in game one, which will be something to keep an eye on.
The Pelicans need Lonzo Ball to be more than just a passer, especially if they are going to give him a max extension and make him the third piece.
However, Lonzo played great defense, facilitated the offense, and every time he left the game the Pels suffered.
Lonzo got into Goran Dragic’s grill and slowed him down after Dragic absolutely torched Eric Bledsoe and the Pels in the first half.
Lonzo is the engine that makes this team go. He needs to be more consistent offensively, but his defense was one of the big differences in this game and kept the Pels in it in the second half.