New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for overtime loss vs. Magic

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Magic: Grades for the bigs

I don’t think any of the Pels’ centers had a good night against the Magic, especially on defense.

Like I wrote earlier, the New Orleans Pelicans were demolished in pick-and-roll all night long. Stan Van Gundy’s squad had no answer for Orlando and Adams was no different.

He found it tough to cover a lot of ground, sometimes because the guard didn’t do a good enough job and others because Adams could not strike the balance between defending the ballhandler while also guarding the screener. Still, he was important in the last possession of the fourth quarter by ensuring that the Magic did not get a good look at a gamewinner.

Offensively, Adams was alright with eight points and 10 rebounds. He grew in the second half, getting all of his buckets in that timeframe.

Much like Adams, Jaxson Hayes did not have a good time defending Orlando’s pick-and-rolls.

However, he left us with some bright moments offensively. Hayes has been a relative revelation in the second half of the season and is starting to fulfill some of his short-term potential. When he’s active rolling to the rim, snaring every ball with his good hands, and getting up for dunks, then NBA teams don’t have much of a response for Hayes.

Hayes had two thunderous dunks against the Magic. First, a huge jam off a pass from Kira Lewis Jr. and then a tremendous double-clutch slam. If there’s one thing about Hayes, it’s that he is definitely fun to watch.

Up next, the Pels finish their back-to-back by taking on the Atlanta Hawks, who are coming off a double overtime win against the San Antonio Spurs.