New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for overtime loss vs. Magic

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Magic: Grades for the guards

Eric Bledsoe played almost 46 minutes, scoring 14 points but also maybe not doing as much as one would hope given the Pels’ absences.

On the bright side, his three-pointers were once again going in. However, his efficiency from the rest of the floor was poor. In addition, he turned the ball over four times and struggled to defend in pick-and-roll actions.

To be clear, Bledsoe’s problems on defense were not exclusive to him. Every Pelicans player struggled guarding Orlando’s pick-and-rolls. Not only did the guards suffer fighting over screens, but the bigs were put in difficult situations that they didn’t quite know how to handle, and the weakside help was often lacking.

Some Pels fans are clamoring for Alexander-Walker to take Bledsoe’s spot in the starting five once Lonzo Ball gets back from injury, but I doubt that will happen.

Kira Lewis Jr. was probably asked to do more than he is comfortable doing at this stage of his NBA career.

The rookie out of Alabama played about 33 minutes, a career-high for him, and also took the most shots he has taken in any game. Right now, he is better served for a sparkplug role off the bench. That does not mean that he can’t start for the Pelicans, but he just shouldn’t be expected to produce like a starter.

Lewis’ jumper was not falling against Orlando, but he had some nice sequences as always pushing the pace. In any case, this game was great experience for him, as he got to experience what it is like being on the floor down the stretch in a close NBA game.

Let’s see if he gets a lot of minutes again on the second night of the Pels’ back-to-back.