New Orleans Pelicans: Takeaways from the OT thriller against the Pacers

Instant takeaways from the New Orleans Pelicans’ crushing 118-116 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers

The New Orleans Pelicans just suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Indiana Pacers. This was a game, that I said would be a tough test for the Pelicans, and I couldn’t have been more right. The game went into overtime, and the New Orleans Pelicans lost in a crushing two-point defeat, 118-116.

Now, just because this team lost, doesn’t mean I’m just going to criticize them. Sure, they lost their biggest game of the season so far, but this Pelicans team showed me something tonight. In this game, I saw that this team has heart, and they’re going to fight tooth and nail until the final buzzer regardless of the score.

With that being said, I feel good about the Pelicans’ prospects, and here are my biggest takeaways from tonight’s overtime thriller!

#1 – Offensive Rebounds keep the Pelicans alive

We wrote about this, just a few days ago, but it was certainly true tonight. The Pelicans offense has been struggling, and if it wasn’t for the team’s prowess on the offensive boards, they would’ve struggled much more tonight.

The Pelicans were able to rack up 16 offensive rebounds tonight, which helped the team’s offense stay alive by giving them extra possessions. This was big because the Pelicans didn’t have the best shooting night during this game, and the Pacers’ backcourt was on fire.

This shows that while offensive rebounding may seem antiquated in the modern NBA, the Pelicans are using it to help support their floundering offense.

#2 – The Pelicans defense remains stout

Sure, the Pelicans loss the game and there were several defensive possessions the team would love to have back, but I don’t think the defense is what cost them this game. What cost the Pelicans a victory tonight was the easy scores they allowed off of their offensive turnovers.

For this game, the Pelicans’ defense was once again great. Sure the 118-116 score seems high, but keep in mind it’s an overtime game. At halftime, the score of this game was only in the low 50s.

Stan Van Gundy’s defense is clearly working for the New Orleans Pelicans, as the team is more disciplined on that end of the floor. They proved that tonight by slowing down a team that has started off the season pretty hot. The additions of Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams certainly help this case too, but we can’t underestimate the leap that the Pelicans’ young players are taking too.

#3- The Pelicans offense is becoming a troubling issue

Let’s face it, early into the season the Pelicans have no offense. If Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson aren’t on, this team is pretty much dead to rites. It’s becoming really concerning.

Several issues make up the Pelicans’ offensive struggles too. Their lack of other scorers has left ball-movement stale leaving Brandon Ingram shouldering most of the work. Then there are the 3-point shooting and rotation issues.

The Pelicans only shot 33 percent from deep tonight, and continue to be one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA. The sharpshooters this team expected to have, aren’t performing. J.J. Redick is showing his age, and Nicolo Melli looks like he’s trying to shoot a medicine ball into the basket.

As for the rotation, let’s just say when Josh Hart has to play big minutes in the frontcourt, you know there’s a problem, even if it is working. No doubt, this offense needs to get together quickly.

Those were the three biggest takeaways I had for the New Orleans Pelicans tonight but check back tomorrow for more deep analysis from this game. Have a good night, Pelicans fans!