The Pelicans have to get more from their bigs to have a chance

The New Orleans Pelicans lost a tight game three at home last night even though the Suns were without Devin Booker.

I wrote that one of the keys to upsetting the Suns would be for Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum to dominate and they did last night, combining for 64 points on efficient shooting.

When that happens, the Pelicans should win, but they didn’t last night, as Chris Paul put on another masterclass and the Suns’ role players stepped up in Booker’s absence.

Coming into this series, I thought the Pelicans would have an advantage down low, as Jonas Valanciunas has been a top center this season and they have a size advantage at the four, which should give them a decisive edge on the boards.

The Pelicans have won the rebounding war in every game, but it hasn’t mattered, as their bigs have been awful and got absolutely eviscerated by Deandre Ayton last night, who ended the game with 28 points, 17 rebounds, three steals and a block.

If the New Orleans Pelicans don’t get more from Valanciunas and Hayes, their season is going to be over soon.

Jonas Valanciunas and Jaxson Hayes for the New Orleans Pelicans

Last night, Valanciunas and Hayes combined for just 10 points, 17 rebounds and five turnovers and were outplayed from the opening whistle, a common theme for this series.

Another theme is that the Pels won the rebounding battle (45-35) but were destroyed on points in the paint, as the Suns scored an unacceptable 64 points down low while the Pelicans scored just 40 in the paint.

This has happened in all three games so far, as the Pels are getting plenty of rebounds, but doing little to stop Phoenix from scoring in the paint.

I thought this was a series that Valanciunas could dominate (especially on the offensive glass) and though he has grabbed a lot of rebounds, he hasn’t done much else.

Jonas is averaging just 11.3 points per game to go along with 16.3 rebounds (an average bolstered by his 25 rebound game one) and shooting an awful 34 percent from the floor.

Jaxson Hayes has mostly been unplayable in this series, averaging just 13 minutes per game out of the starting lineup and scoring 5.6 points to go with 3.3 rebounds.

This has forced the Pelicans to go small and might prompt Willie Green to make some changes to his starting lineup.

The Pelicans don’t need their bigs to score 30 a night, but they can’t play at a net loss and give up huge games to Deandre Ayton.

New Orleans has to find a way to take advantage of their size or should shorten their rotation and play the guys who are producing.