It might be time for the New Orleans Pelicans to definitively wave goodbye to their playoff aspirations after a devastating loss against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Pels dropped a crucial game against arguably their most direct rival in the play-in tournament picture. It was another performance in a winnable game that ultimately was not good enough.
All we have to do is take a look at some of the most important figures on the stat sheet. The Pelicans committed 19 turnovers, harkening back to the team’s problems last year under Alvin Gentry. More importantly, New Orleans missed a grand total of 15 free throws. The game was decided by a two-point margin, so just do the math.
If the Pelicans cannot be crisp in both of those areas during such a pivotal game, then they probably do not deserve to have a chance to get into the post-season anyways. There is a lot of work to do in the big easy this upcoming off-season, even if things miraculously spin New Orleans’ way and the team somehow winds up in the play-in tournament.
That, however, appears increasingly unlikely. With this loss, the Pelicans are now four games behind the 10th-placed Golden State Warriors and 4.5 games off the Spurs. The Pels are closer to the 12th-placed Sacramento Kings than to the playoff picture, which is a big blow considering the high hopes the team carried at the start of the season.
New Orleans battled from behind for most of the contest. The Pels were down nine points at the half-time break but managed to get within a single point to start the fourth quarter. In the clutch, DeMar DeRozan carried the Spurs to the win, making tough shot after tough shot. Lonzo Ball had a decent look from three that could have tied the game with around 30 seconds left, but it’s not like it was an unmissable shot.
Here are the player grades for the Pels’ loss against the Spurs, starting with my personal MVP:
New Orleans Pelicans vs. San Antonio Spurs: Grading the best player
Another imposing performance from Zion Williamson which demonstrates the Pels’ need to build the team around him this summer.
Williamson manhandled the Spurs’ wing defenders, constantly overpowering Keldon Johnson and Luka Samanic. The Pels’ all-star did most of his damage around the low post in this game, getting the ball on the left side of the court before spinning and attacking the rim. He finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds.
The Spurs occasionally bothered Williamson by smothering him around the basket—something that is becoming increasingly easy for teams to do, considering the Pels’ rickety three-point shooting. Still, he did well gathering his misses and putting them back in. Williamson finished with a team-high five offensive rebounds.
It is very unlikely that we will get to see Williamson in the playoffs this year. The good news is that he is only two seasons into his NBA career and, in terms of games, hasn’t actually completed the equivalent of an entire season. However, the Pelicans have no time to waste. They need to prove that they are serious about winning and flesh out a team around Williamson that can at least consistently make the playoffs.
That will mean moving some pieces in the summer, probably adjusting players’ roles, and giving Williamson easier looks on the court. I’m tired of opponents being able to crowd his space without having to worry about the consequences.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Spurs: Grades for the guards
Lonzo Ball broke out of his short-lived slump to put up a very good performance in an important game.
Unfortunately, his good game means little after the loss, but it was encouraging to see Ball back to his best after a slow return from his hip injury. The New Orleans Pelicans point guard had 24 points and four assists, even if he did also have four turnovers.
This was a typical showing from Ball, whose great play earlier this season has seemingly been unfairly forgotten because of a trifecta of poor games. I recently wrote about the unfairness of recency bias when it comes to Ball, so I hope he gets credit for this outing.
Ball was more aggressive than usual looking for his shot. He put up a high volume of threes, as he tends to do, but was also willing to get downhill and take some mid-range jumpers.
The former UCLA guard missed a triple with 30 seconds left that could have potentially taken the game to overtime, but it wasn’t a pristine look. Even then, he had hit a crucial three in transition a few minutes earlier.
Yet another game in which Eric Bledsoe sits out the entire fourth quarter.
Bledsoe’s time with the Pelicans has been maddening. There has literally been no consistency at all to his game. He has mostly been bad, but just when it seemed like he had turned a bit of a corner after the trade deadline, he is still capable of putting up duds like this.
Bledsoe wasn’t terrible, but he just tends to not do a whole lot. He’s no longer aggressive attacking the rim, his three-pointer is waning (31 percent in March), and his defense is uninspiring. Simply put, the Pelicans are better when he is not on the court.
While discussing Zion Williamson’s game, I wrote that some pieces need to be shifted and Bledsoe is at the top of this list.
Kira Lewis Jr. only scored five points, but I thought he played fine off the bench.
Lewis made the Pelicans pick up the pace, as he tends to do, and had a couple of nice assists while making a three. He isn’t as effervescent as he was in February, for instance, but I am glad that he continues to get valuable minutes.
The Alabama rookie also competed on defense. Lewis’ output on this end of the floor has been a pleasant surprise for me since he was heralded in college more for his offensive prowess.
If the playoffs are not in the cards for the Pelicans—which, let’s face it, almost seems impossible—then I hope that Lewis gets even more playing time until the end of the season. Maybe the Pelicans will lose more, but at least he gets time to develop, and New Orleans potentially inches closer to a savory lottery pick.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Spurs: Grades for the wings
I thought Brandon Ingram had a frustrating performance against the Spurs.
Ingram’s stats ended up looking pretty good—24 points, six assists, and six rebounds—but he struggled to truly make a mark on the game. It often seemed like the one-time all-star was on a different wavelength to the rest of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Ingram really struggled to get into a consistent groove. He was forcing shots and drives, taking tons of difficult pull-up twos, and was constantly bothered by San Antonio’s defense. I wish he had focused on playmaking a bit more.
Ingram’s performance was momentarily better in the third quarter, scoring 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, but that shouldn’t conceal a tough outing. I also did not understand Ingram taking an important three down the stretch when that shot had not been going for him all night long.
The important takeaway for Naji Marshall against the Spurs is that he played every minute of the fourth quarter.
That is indicative of how much Stan Van Gundy trusts the former Xavier man, who I expect to see get converted to a regular contract very soon. Marshall wasn’t overly impressive, but he still did some nice things against the Spurs. He was effective pushing the ball and getting downhill to draw fouls, but here’s where the caveat kicks in.
I’ve argued before that shooting is Marshall’s swing skill and, while I still think it is, he has shown that he can impact games even without a consistent three-pointer through his driving game. Because Marshall is so tough and forceful on his drives, he takes plenty of trips to the free throw line—where he shooting just 65 percent.
Since entering the rotation after Josh Hart’s injury, Marshall is taking about four foul shots per game, which would be third-best on the Pelicans. He needs to convert these, as he made just one of his four free throws against San Antonio.
With James Johnson still out, Wes Iwundu once again got some playing time.
Truth be told, I’m not quite sure what Iwundu did during his 10 minutes on the court. He wasn’t a negative or a positive. He was just… there.
Iwundu took no shots, had no assists, no steals, no blocks, and no turnovers. His only stats were a couple of uncontested defensive rebounds and four fouls. For the most part, Iwundu was out there working on his cardio. It seems to me like the former Kansas State wing was just out there to fill a spot in the rotation.
I would have rather seen James Nunnally or Wenyen Gabriel who I believe can provide better value with their three-point shooting and energy, respectively. I’m also anxious to see Didi Louzada enter the wing rotation once he finally makes it to New Orleans.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Spurs: Grades for the bigs
Steven Adams wasn’t necessarily bad, but he was thoroughly and surprisingly overwhelmed by Jakob Poeltl.
The Austrian center is one of the more underrated bigs in the NBA. He doesn’t have a very flashy or modern game, but he is incredibly effective protecting the rim and making the most out of the few shots he gets. The Spurs definitely deserve credit for the way they have developed him.
Adams was the best center for the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night, but that’s not really saying much. He was uncharacteristically sloppy on offense and, more importantly, failed to corral some crucial defensive rebounds in the clutch.
The New Zealand center seemed intent on tapping the Spurs’ misses out, rather than just gathering them as he usually does.
Jaxson Hayes found it tough to deal with the Spurs’ dynamic offense and did not make the defensive impact that he is capable of.
The Texas big also didn’t make himself felt on his return to the Lone Star State. He missed five of his seven field goals, only scoring two easy dunks. However, much like Kira Lewis Jr., I want to see Hayes see an uptick in minutes if the Pelicans don’t make the playoffs.
Hayes only plays 15 minutes per night, a small decrease on his rookie season’s figures. More time on the court will serve his development really well and give him the chance to show the more expansive parts of his game, such as maybe some outside shooting or the ability to put the ball on the floor.
Willy Hernangómez only played five minutes against the Spurs.
I suspect that Stan Van Gundy didn’t trust the Spanish center to effectively guard San Antonio’s moving pieces and explosive guards. In those five minutes, Hernangómez committed a foul and picked up a turnover.
As we have seen before, there will be other games in which Van Gundy will turn to Hernangómez; however, if he isn’t going to be in New Orleans next season, I would rather see his minutes go to Hayes.