During the Detroit Pistons vs. New Orleans Pelicans game the other night, I noticed a distinct difference in the fanbases on Twitter.
The Pistons’ fans were ecstatic about the play of their rookies and the overall effort of their team while the Pelicans’ fans were arguing about which guy should be traded and whether Stan Van Gundy should be fired.
Part of it is expectations, as the Pistons had none coming into the season and are exceeding them while the Pelicans have largely underperformed.
It’s not the Pelicans’ record that is so surprising, as they are a young team with a new coach and lot of new players, but it’s been the way they are losing.
They are giving little effort, especially on the defensive end, playing with little urgency, and quite frankly getting punked by lesser teams.
Fans just want to see their guys play hard and care, even if they don’t get the desired results, especially when the team is young and still building.
I’ve seen more effort and passion go into arguments about Lonzo Ball on Twitter than I’ve seen on the court for the Pelicans this season and eventually fans are going to get bored of the poor results.
Here are three things we want to see against the Memphis Grizzlies.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels need to show they care
The Pistons out-hustled and outplayed the Pelicans all night even though they are half as talented and this needs to change.
Veterans like Eric Bledsoe shouldn’t have to be motivated to play hard but lately he’s just been going through the motions and doesn’t seem to care.
The Pelicans were down late to the Pistons but you wouldn’t have known it by the way they were walking the ball up the floor, not getting after it on defense and not communicating down the stretch.
It looked like they had a 30 point lead in a preseason game rather than being down 10 with two minutes to go against a bad team in the regular season.
Fans want to see players that care as much as they do and so far the New Orleans Pelicans have rarely given that effort.
Some of this is on Stan Van Gundy but most of it is on the players, as they shouldn’t need a coach to motivate them to give effort.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels need to play defense vs. Memphis
The Pelicans’ defensive effort over the last three losses has been atrocious.
The Pels set an NBA record for 3-point shots allowed by giving up 67 makes in their last three games.
You can blame SVG’s defensive scheme for some of this, but another part is that players are not communicating, not fighting through or over screens and not hustling to close out on shots.
Stan Van Gundy needs to make it clear that players who do not give defensive effort will not play.
I’d rather see Sindarius Thornwell, Wenyen Gabriel or Naji Marshall out there rather than watch Bledsoe et al. go through the motions.
Fans (and maybe even the rest of the team) would rally around anyone who plays hard right now, and if that means going to the end of the bench, so be it.
If that means bringing in some fresh faces from the G-League, so be it.
The New Orleans Pelicans aren’t winning anyway and they need a culture change and need it fast. That could mean sitting some more talented players until they get it through their heads that defense matters.
New Orleans Pelicans: Kira Lewis Jr. should start
The lowpoint of the season for me was watching Kira Lewis Jr. get the ball slapped out of his hands by Dennis Smith Jr. while his teammates sat around and did nothing.
Lewis Jr. stood up for himself and turned up his defensive intensity. His teammates couldn’t be bothered.
Stan Van Gundy more or less said that his team was soft after seeing this and I have to agree.
I’m not saying they should be out there throwing punches or anything but you can’t let your rookie get treated like that without at least standing up for him, or giving a hard foul.
The Pels briefly rallied behind Kira Lewis Jr.’s play after this incident but then just went back to looking at their phones.
I’d like to see Kira Lewis Jr. inserted into the starting lineup to see if his fire and hustle can carry over and infect some of his teammates.
Bledsoe is doing nothing but shooting 3-pointers right now anyway, so why not move him to the bench to see if some life be breathed into this team?
It won’t change the fact that the Pels still have no bench depth but at least it will be rewarding the one guy on the team who played hard and actually seemed to care in the last loss.
The New Orleans Pelicans need to prove it to themselves and to the fans, who are tired of watching lackluster effort.
It’s not the losing that’s upsetting, it’s the way it’s happening.