New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for overtime loss vs. Magic

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Magic: Grades for the wings

It was a weird night for Josh Hart because, if one looks at his stats, then he played the most out of anyone and had a game with 14 points and 17 rebounds. The second number, in particular, is eyepopping for a 6-foot-5 average athlete.

However, I thought that Hart did not enjoy the additional responsibilities he was given. With Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram out because of injury, Hart was asked to play in a bigger role for the New Orleans Pelicans. At times, that meant handling the ball more, running some pick-and-roll, and generally just being more aggressive on offense.

Hart had five turnovers against the Magic and made just four of his 11 attempted field goals. A lot of the points he got came from the free throw line. Hart’s performance improved as the game wore on, but it’s clear why he has the role he has.

This was the first time Pels fans have really gotten to see what James Johnson is about and the veteran forward did fairly well.

Johnson got the start at the 4, but largely played like a wing or even a ball-handling forward. Johnson played about 28 minutes, scored 17 points, and shared some of the playmaking duties for the Pelicans. He added value stretching the floor and creating for others.

I’m not sure how much game time Johnson will regularly get. His strengths overlap with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, but they are younger and much better. Still, he’s a nice asset to have off the bench and I think he’ll provide boosts to the Pels here and there throughout the remainder of the season.

The worst part of his showing was his defense. Johnson showed that he is 34-years-old and cannot move around as well as he once could. Going forward and once everyone is healthy, that’s why I expect to see Johnson’s rotation minutes come in short spurts.

Stan Van Gundy continues to give Wes Iwundu rotation minutes.

It’s understandable as to why this is the case. Iwundu projects as a rangy, switchy wing that might be able to cut and slash or perhaps take advantage of spot-up threes. However, his minutes against the Magic disappointed me.

I thought Iwundu looked shaky on the ball and didn’t contribute much off it. He had a nice reverse layup in transition that led to an and-1 opportunity, but was pretty quiet otherwise and actually missed some makeable shots.

Moreover, Iwundu went 0-for-2 from downtown, continuing his struggles from the three-point line. He is down to 12 percent shooting from the perimeter for the season.