The New Orleans Pelicans got blown out by the Phoenix Suns and it wasn’t pretty.
The New Orleans Pelicans have had an up-and-down start to the 2020-21 season, looking great at times and at others looking like a lottery team.
Such was the case in their 111-86 loss to the Phoenix Suns, a game where the Pelicans completely disappeared after the first quarter.
The Pels came out sharp behind an aggressive Brandon Ingram on offense and Lonzo Ball’s smothering perimeter defense, but then the first quarter ended and the Pelicans took a nap.
It was an ugly game that will lead to some harsh overreactions, but let’s try to remember that this was the 4th game for a young team with a new coach who had about two weeks to prepare.
It’s not time to panic, but it’s always fun to overreact. Here are my overreactions for the loss to the Suns with a heavy “IT’S ONLY GAME FOUR!!!” disclaimer.
New Orleans Pelicans: 3-point shooting woes continued against the Phoenix Suns
Overreaction #1: The Pelicans can’t shoot!!
Ok, it’s way too early, especially when two of the Pels’ shooters are veterans who have proven themselves in the league.
But the Pelicans have failed to score 100 points in three of their first four games, and this one was against the Suns, who aren’t exactly known for their defense.
It mostly comes down to 3-point shooting, as the Pels have been completely broke in that department. The Pels were 3-of-24 from behind the arc against the Suns for 12.5 percent, or roughly Melli’s career average.
Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe are shooting 28.6 percent each. Josh Hart? 30 percent. J.J. Redick? (one of the greatest shooters of all-time) 29.2 percent. And the great Nicolo Melli is shooting 14.3 percent after making his first 3-pointer of the season in mop-up duty.
Melli stinks, this has been well established, and until someone else steps up, the Pelicans are going to suffer when he is on the floor.
But the rest of these guys will get back to their averages over time. Redick and Bledsoe have earned some trust in that area and Lonzo had to take some tough shots that brought down his average.
It’s too early to panic about the Pels’ 3-point shooting, but it was one of my preseason question marks and so far has proven to be a problem.