New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for nail-biting loss vs. Nuggets

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Nuggets: Grades for the wings

I’m running the risk of having Brandon Ingram graded a bit too high, but I thought he was one of the most dangerous players for the New Orleans Pelicans all night long.

In terms of purely shooting, Ingram played a perfectly normal game for his lofty standards. He had 27 points on 50 percent shooting and ended up with four made threes, including a huge one in the clutch. Ingram also showed some flashes of pretty good playmaking and should have gotten an assist to take the game to overtime.

However, notice how I said flashes. That’s because Ingram was really inconsistent making decisions against the Nuggets. When he was looking to get his passes off quickly, Ingram was executing the right reads and setting up his teammates for great looks. But when the one-time all-star was more intent on pounding the ball or forcing things, he hurt the Pelicans.

Ingram ended up with a team-high six turnovers—one more than his five assists. He needs to find a balance between looking for his own shot and being more snappy with his facilitating.

Still, the Pels’ chances of taking the game to overtime and then possibly winning went through Ingram a lot down the stretch. That’s why he still gets a good grade.

Naji Marshall saw his minutes go down a bit against the Nuggets, although I think it was just a case of the guards and wings generally playing quite well.

The former Xavier standout finished with seven points in 18 minutes, while also adding a pair of assists and five rebounds. However, he had a season-high three turnovers.

More importantly, Marshall made both of his attempted free throws. He had not converted all of his foul shots since April 18 and this will be a key improvement area for him going forward.

I’m also excited to see what new signing Didi Louzada can add to the Pels’ wing positions. That will hopefully mean some healthy competition for Marshall since he is the only truly dependable rotation wing that is healthy and fit to play right now.

Wenyen Gabriel stayed in Stan Van Gundy’s rotation against Denver, likely because of James Johnson’s minutes restriction.

The South Sudan forward seemingly came on to both fill time and give the Pelicans a jolt of energy. He did well in that regard since Gabriel always comes on the floor with a ton of defensive intensity and energy. Besides that, though, he honestly barely did anything.

I mentioned against the Clippers that Gabriel’s negative offensive feel is the biggest thing holding him back from having a consistent NBA role. He has the size, athleticism, energy, and versatility to be an NBA player but is often a complete non-factor on attack. That goes back to his college days at Kentucky, as well.

Against the Nuggets, Gabriel whiffed an open layup after attacking a closeout and then smacked the floor in frustration. I hope this part of his game eventually comes around.

It’s good to see James Johnson back but he won’t be getting a grade because he was on a minutes restriction.

The veteran forward played a hair less than eight minutes for the Pels. I’m not sure if he was only available for that amount of time, but it seemed rather arbitrary and even sort of detrimental. Johnson has averaged 26 minutes per game for the Pelicans so far and he was understandably unable to get into any sort of groove against the Nuggets.

However, seeing him return will be a boost for New Orleans as they face the end of the regular season. Let’s see if Johnson sticks around in the big easy this summer.