New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for overtime loss vs. Wizards

The New Orleans Pelicans’ play-in tournament hopes suffered a big blow after an overtime loss to the Washington Wizards.

If you are a fan of three-pointers, then this was not the game for you. The Pelicans have struggled from beyond the arc all season, once again making only 25 percent of their threes on Friday night, while the Wizards converted on just four triples during the entire game. Before overtime, Washington had only made two threes.

The Pelicans could count themselves lucky to only be down one point at the break, some of which can be attributed to the Wizards’ dreadful perimeter shooting. I lost count of how many times Russell Westbrook generated an open three only to see it rim out. Luckily for the DC franchise, Westbrook eventually had the last word nonetheless.

New Orleans had two great chances to win the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter, with Zion Williamson running the floor in transition and then Lonzo Ball having a good look from the corner. Neither of those materialized—Williamson got stuffed and Ball missed the three—and the game went to overtime.

It seemed like we were primed to have a second overtime period, but a highly questionable foul call took Westbrook to the free throw line with one second left in the game. Stan Van Gundy challenged the call to no avail and the former MVP made his foul shots.

This loss might spell the beginning of the end of the Pelicans’ chances to make the play-in tournament. New Orleans still has a favorable schedule until the end of the regular season, but they are losing winnable games and remain two games behind the 10th-placed San Antonio Spurs.

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

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Washington Wizards: Grading the best player

Brandon Ingram gets this grade because the Pelicans would not have been in this game without him. It’s as simple as that.

Ingram led the Pelicans in scoring with 34 points and was the only reliable bucket-getter on the team. He made four of his nine threes but also mixed in his typical tough mid-range shots. The Wizards were often singularly focused on Ingram, but he still found a way to keep the Pelicans in the game.

The former Duke wing wasn’t too pleased with the Pelicans’ spacing last game and Stan Van Gundy didn’t make things easier for him against Washington. Still, the Pels’ hopes of winning on Friday went through him.

Ingram had a tough time down the stretch. This can often be the case and has been used against him this season, but here, I think it’s tough to criticize him too much. He went 0-for-5 in the fourth quarter but then bounced back with six points in overtime. Ingram was the right man to take these shots versus Washington.

Beyond his scoring, I also thought Ingram contributed in plenty of other ways. He shined as a facilitator and his defense was up to par, which is not always the case.