New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for undermanned loss vs. Hawks

The New Orleans Pelicans were defeated 126-103 in a blowout courtesy of the Atlanta Hawks on the second night of a back-to-back.

Much like on Thursday night, the Pels were without their big three of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. To make things worse, New Orleans is expected to be without Josh Hart for a considerable amount of time due to a thumb ligament injury. Steven Adams was also kept out of the game against Atlanta due to ankle soreness.

That left Stan Van Gundy with little choice but to start the previously unseen five-man combination of Eric Bledsoe, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naji Marshall, James Johnson, and Jaxson Hayes.

Bledsoe has mostly played poorly all year, Alexander-Walker and Hayes have been sparkplugs off the bench until now, most of Marshall’s game time came in the G League, and Johnson only got to New Orleans on the trade deadline. The Pelicans put up a good fight in the first half, only trailing by one at the break, but lost the game in the third quarter.

The Golden State Warriors’ historic loss to the Toronto Raptors compounded things for the Pels. The Warriors lost by 53 points to the Raptors, but it’s not like the Pelicans were able to take advantage.

In fact, the Pels are in dangerous territory right now. They are only 0.5 and 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings and the Warriors, respectively, but just a single game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder. This injury crisis came at a terrible time.

On the other side of the court were the Atlanta Hawks, coming off a double-overtime win the previous night but also with considerable absences. Trae Young was rested, while the likes of Danilo Gallinari, De’Andre Hunter, Cameron Reddish, and Kris Dunn were out with injuries.

Here are the player grades for the Pels’ loss against the Hawks, starting with my personal MVP:

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Atlanta Hawks: Grading the best player

Kira Lewis Jr. bounced back after a tough outing against the Orlando Magic. The Pels’ rookie came off the bench to lead the team with 21 points, a new career high for him.

Lewis was efficient from around the floor, making half of his threes and letting the game come to him. So far, he has not minded carrying an extra offensive burden. He set new highs in terms of field goal attempts against the Magic and now versus the Hawks. I expect that the first-year guard will continue to get plenty of playing time until the end of the season.

As is the norm for him, Lewis excelled when he was able to apply pressure on the opponent’s rim. As the Hawks learned, it’s hard to stop him when he starts getting downhill. Lewis also did well to make Atlanta pay when they dared him to pull up from three.

One thing I want to see Lewis tap into more over the next few weeks is his playmaking. The Pels sorely need someone to connect things around the floor with Ball, Williamson, and Ingram all out of action. Lewis could fit into that role, but he is yet to get above six assists in his career.