New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for nail-biting loss vs. Nuggets
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Nuggets: Grades for the bigs
A slightly subpar outing for Zion Williamson, although he still could have taken the New Orleans Pelicans to overtime.
Williamson looked like he struggled to get into a rhythm all night, although he still gave the Nuggets problems. The Pels’ franchise player showed how unstoppable he could be in the low post, but some credit must be given to Denver.
The Nuggets made things difficult for Williamson all night. He still got 21 points, but he was held to under 50 percent shooting from the field. That has only happened seven times all season.
I expect Williamson to be back at his best against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
Willy Hernangómez saw plenty of action once again and did relatively okay.
B- seems like a low grade given what I just said, but it’s just what happens when you face Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets center is a surefire MVP candidate in what some say should be a no-contest and what others believe is a two-horse race between Jokic and the Sixers’ Joel Embiid.
Regardless, it cannot be overstated just how unstoppable Jokic has been this season. He is nearly perfect in every area, so it would have been foolish to pretend that Hernangómez had a chance of stopping him. The Spanish big made his Serbian counterpart work hard at times, but it was still just too easy.
However, Hernangómez competed well, played tough, and did alright on offense. Sometimes, you’re just going to face players that are better than you. Not much you can do about that.
Jaxson Hayes needs to be played exclusively at the 5.
Okay, maybe seeing some time at the 4 will help round out his skills and whatnot, but I honestly think that is identically possible if he plays solely at the center spot. Hayes only saw minutes at the 4 for a brief period of time against the Nuggets, but seeing that frontcourt option still exasperates me.
Maybe Hayes isn’t strong enough to defend Jokic yet, but the Pelicans are four games off the play-in tournament. You don’t exactly want to throw in the towel, but you can still use this time to develop young prospects—such as the Texas big.
Theoretically, Hayes at the 4 gives you size, lets him stretch the floor a bit more, and hopefully helps him get used to other areas besides the paint. However, putting him in as a center with Zion Williamson doing damage in the paint accomplishes the exact same thing. If Hayes can become a decent three-point shooter, then he’ll only become a bigger mismatch for centers who will need to find a balance between guarding him on the outside and being aware of the danger he poses above the rim.
Against the Nuggets, Hayes did well during his 14 minutes of game time. He was perfect from the field, made his four free throws, and showed off his good hands.
Steven Adams was questionable heading into the game and then didn’t play at all after the half.
The New Zealand center has been dealing with a toe injury that he apparently reaggravated against the Nuggets. Prior to checking out of the game for good, he played only 13 minutes.
Stan Van Gundy would have probably preferred for Adams to play against Denver and then miss the game against Oklahoma City, but of course, it’s not like one can choose that. Still, Adams maybe would have given Jokic some more problems with his physicality or just made him work harder. It’s not like he stopped the Serbian big man in their prior encounters.