Every time I feel like the New Orleans Pelicans have hit rock bottom, they find a way to fall even lower. In what was an extremely winnable game today against the then 5-17 Brooklyn Nets, the Pelicans were dominated 119-101. This one wasn’t even close. In the first half alone, the Pelicans gave up 62 points and trailed by 18. Michael Porter Jr. carved up the Pelicans’ defense with ease, getting whatever he wanted offensively and finishing the first half with 22 points.
To be fair, the Nets have been playing solidly as of late. With this win, they are now 3-1 in their last four games. However, when you look at both these teams on paper, even with the injuries the Pelicans have been dealing with, New Orleans' roster blows Brooklyn’s out of the water. Given how this season has started, wins are going to be tough to come by for the Pelicans, which makes this loss that much more disappointing.
This loss was a group effort, with missed defensive assignments, a lack of aggression on the boards, sloppy turnovers—you name it. But two guys stood out in particular for extremely down performances in this one: Yves Missi and Jeremiah Fears.
Fears’ issue tonight wasn't anything more than the simple fact that his shots weren’t falling, finishing the night shooting 4 for 16 from the field. But, I did think his playmaking was excellent with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5-1.
Missi, on the other hand, was a disaster tonight. He was missing defensive assignments, getting outworked on the defensive glass by a combination of different Nets bigs, and just overall looked lost. To his defense, it was his first game back from a two-game absence, so hopefully this was just first-game-back struggles.
The positives
Trey Murphy III continues to be the one consistent thing for this team. After a disappointing first couple of games this season, he has fully turned things around and is emerging as one of the league's most efficient three-level scorers. Murphy III had 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 58.8 percent shooting from the field.
For the second straight game, I felt like Bryce McGowens was a star in his role. 16 points on 5/8 shooting, staying out of the way of Derik Queen, Fears, and Murphy III, but still finding a way to capitalize on the chances he got. Still would like to see more from him defensively, but that’ll come in time.
The third positive in this one was the minutes that Micah Peavy and Jose Alvarado played off the bench together. It was chaotic, gritty, and awesome. I’m not a big plus-minus guy, but it’s telling that they were the only two Pelicans to finish in the positive—Alvarado as a plus-eight and Peavy as a plus-five.