New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for blowout loss vs. Mavericks

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Mavericks: Grades for the bigs

Willy Hernangómez should have been used more offensively, but he also got destroyed on defense.

I thought the New Orleans Pelicans should have turned to the Spanish center in the low post more often, especially against Kristaps Porzingis. This style of basketball is not exactly in vogue across the NBA right now, but it’s a good tool to use at least once in a while.

The few times Hernangómez got the ball down low, he was able to overwhelm the Mavs with his size, strength, and soft touch. That’s how he finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, another double-double to add to his collection.

However, I thought Hernangómez was quite poor on the other side of the basketball. Nothing was entirely his fault, but he also didn’t do much to prevent the Mavericks from scoring for joy.

Hernangómez didn’t protect the rim, didn’t take the right angles to guard pick-and-rolls (although the Pels’ guards often didn’t, as well), and failed to deter the game from becoming a blowout.

Another C grade, this time for Jaxson Hayes.

The reason for this many similar grades is because the Pelicans got blown out but more or less played to expectations. Did anyone think New Orleans was going to beat Dallas while missing five of their main players?

After three great performances, Hayes had a similar night to Hernangómez’s. He was fine on offense, including a neat reverse dunk, but a non-factor defensively. The Texas big had one or two decent moments but overall failed to do anything that warded off the Mavericks.

The good news: Hayes got to the free throw line eight times. He was active around the glass and, when he checked into the game initially, got four quick free throws that helped him settle into a rhythm to finish with 15 points.

Wenyen Gabriel was decent in his 26 minutes against the Mavericks.

The South Sudan forward continues to add value defensively, although there’s not much to say for that in a total blowout. Still, Gabriel looked good when he came into the game and showed some flashes during the entire night.

For example, he had a nice sequence where he stifled Kristaps Porzingis and Dorian Finney-Smith in a row. Later, he followed a block on defense with a big dunk down the other end of the floor.

Crucially for Gabriel, he is still making the most out of the offensive looks he gets. Gabriel confidently made a pick-and-pop three after checking into the game (although he missed his other two triples) and finished with seven points.