New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for loss vs. Knicks

The New Orleans Pelicans lost their 30th game of the season as they were defeated 116-106 by the New York Knicks.

It was a close game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Pelicans ultimately succumbed to the best defense in the NBA. The Knicks allow the fewest points per game, as well as the lowest three-point shooting percentage.

The latter area was something New Orleans struggled with in particular, making just six threes over the entirety of the game. New York outscored Stan Van Gundy’s squad by 33 points on the perimeter, a shocking amount. The Pelicans’ problems from downtown are nothing new.

The Pelicans have been cold from three all season long. They are in the league’s bottom eight for three-point percentage, but the roster’s lack of natural spacing and shooting has been even more evident as of late.

In their past four games, the Pelicans are shooting a frigid 24.5 percent from three. That number would rank dead last in the NBA and it’s a small miracle that New Orleans is even winning games with those figures in a make-or-miss league.

Because the Pelicans just cannot score from downtown, it feels like they are at a disadvantage even before the opening tip. This is exacerbated by the absences of Lonzo Ball (38 percent from three), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (35 percent), and Josh Hart (33 percent) who are relied on to space the floor. But as you can see, even their figures are not outstanding. This is a roster construction problem that has gone unaddressed over the course of the season.

The Pelicans did a solid job of staying in the game against the Knicks, but they could only hold on for so long. Tom Thibodeau’s team deserves plaudits for a well-played game. Their defense was on-point throughout the 48 minutes at the Smoothie King Center and their players tasked with providing offensive firepower delivered.

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

New Orleans Pelicans vs. New York Knicks: Grading the best player

It often felt like Zion Williamson had to put the New Orleans Pelicans on his back if they had any hopes of pulling out a good result.

Williamson saw an accumulation of Knick bodies every time that he touched the ball, but still scored 25 points on over 50 percent shooting and grazed a triple double with eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Knicks did a great job at making things tough for the Pels’ all-star. Williamson was almost never unbothered and you could tell that he was getting frustrated at some of the no-calls he received. The former number one pick leads the NBA in points in the paint, but it often feels like referees don’t give him the benefit of the call just because he is able to play through contact.

In terms of playmaking, Williamson did well—in fact, more than that based on the Pels’ horrible spacing. Williamson needs to be surrounded by shooters at all times, but that just is not possible based on the geometry of this roster. The Knicks were able to collapse their defense on him whenever they wanted and, even though Williamson still executed the right reads, just think of how many more assists he would have with actual floor spacers.

Going forward, the Pels’ front office needs to do a better job. This is only the second season of his long NBA career, but Williamson is a generational talent that needs to know the Pels truly want to get better. As for the rest of this season, Stan Van Gundy needs to ensure that the lineups he puts out when Williamson is on the floor are not negatively spaced. I don’t think he has done a good enough job with that lately.

Williamson also put up a spirited performance on the defensive end of the floor. He had a couple of blocks and generally competed. The only reason his grade gets docked a slight bit is because of his four turnovers and because he was not as efficient as we’ve gotten accustomed to. This is not Williamson’s fault, though, but rather a byproduct of the Pels’ problems.