TWolves 121, Pelicans 120 Didn't get to watch, but I know they blew a double digit 4th quarter lead. As expected, they rested Zion; thought the league was putting some restrictions on doing that. Don't know why you'd need to rest a young player like that for a full game. Just restrict his minutes the second game if you think the guy is that fragile. First of two straight home games against red-hot Sacramento tonight. Zion will play.... Jose?
Pelicans 127, Kings 93 Pels destroy one of the hottest teams in the league. Kings were powerless against Zion in the first half. They adjusted by pretty much throwing half the city of Sacramento at him in the third Q; he started dishing, and then it was BI's turn to complete the carnage. The lead was 40 by the time Willie starting pulling starters. Ingram had 31 in just 26 minutes; Zion had 26 in 29 minutes. D'Aaron Fox has been the media darling as of late, and Dyson Daniels put him in handcuffs. Daniels and Herb Jones are a scary starting backcourt defensively. Jonas had a double double and props to Cody Zeller, who had 9 and 9 off the bench. Every Pelican who played had at least one assist. Jose Alvarado made his season debut and looked rusty in limited minutes. Hoping to see Trey Murphy before the end of the month. Pels and Kings run it back tomorrow night.
Pelicans 117, Kings 112 No surprise that this one was a lot rougher. Pels blew a 14-point 4th quarter lead with bad FT shooting, a flurry of Sac 3’s and questionable officiating (at one point Pels got called for fouls on 7 straight King possessions). BI and Zion both for critical scores in the closing minutes to ice it. Zion 26, BI 23, Jonas 15 and 11. Alvarado getting back to form, Nance returned to the rotation. CJ McCollom is practicing but not yet cleared. On the road now, at the Clippers Friday.
Pelicans 116, Clippers 106 Nice win on the road. Didn't get to watch, but know we led by 17 early in the first half, blew the lead and fell behind in the 3rd before getting it back together. Zion 32, BI 30. That's 5 wins in the last 6 and 5-0 with the starting lineup of Herb, Daniels, Zion, BI and Jonas. Right back at it tonight at Utah, I'd expect them to rest Zion.
Pelicans lose back-to-back games at Utah. First one was excusable; team didn't arrive in Salt Lake City until after 3:00am the morning of the game, and lost an hour traveling. Playing two nights in a row, their legs were dead and it showed. Last night was not excusable, done in by poor shooting beyond the arc and the FT line. Lose by 2, and for the second time this season, the guy who's supposed to be mid-range money (Ingram) missed from within his prime range at the buzzer with a chance to extend the game. And someone needs to tell Dyson Daniels that there's a reason teams don't even bother to defend him when he's hanging around behind the 3-point line in crunch time. Missed two wide open 3's - and I mean wiiiiiide open, no one within 6 feet of him - in the last two minutes. Pels need CJ, Trey Murphy and Matt Ryan back so bad; the only deep shooter that scares anyone is Hawkins. As they always do, Utah packed the defense in tight and dared nola to beat them from outside. Disappointing road trip; went 1-2 and should have been no worse than 2-1. Home for the Sixers tomorrow night. Edit: nola.com reports CJ should return Friday, maybe even tomorrow, and Murphy should debut some time next week. Great news.
Pelicans 124, Sixers 114 Wasn't that close; wire-to-wire win, led by 20+ much of the night, got sloppy at the end. Joel Embiid was out (illness) and the Pels bullied the Sixers in the paint. Zion was nearly perfect 11-12 FG, 11-12 FTs for a season-high 33, with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. CJ McCollum returned and looked like he was never gone, 20 points, 5 assists. Jonas 19, Hawkins 16, BI 15. Only negative other than the sloppy finish was 20 turnovers, but they also forced 21 and did a much better job turning TO's into points than Philly did. Back-to-back next, San Antonio Friday, at Chicago Saturday. Broadcast said CJ will not travel to Chicago (doctor's restriction) but will meet the team in Sacramento Tuesday for the in-season tournament quarterfinal.
Pelicans 121, Spurs 106 A win that almost felt like a loss, as the Pels just could not put San Antone away; mainly because they started out red hot from behind the arc and the Pels were ice cold. That changed late in the 3rd quarter, thanks to Trey Murphy, hitting 4 of 10 behind the stripe in his first game of the year. Also felt off because Ingram and Zion were quiet (Ingram was god awful, was 1 of 12 from the field until late in the game, and the 1 was a dunk). They had 26 points - but 14 assists - combined. The scoring came from Jonas with 26 (and 12 boards) C.J. McCollum with 19 (and 8 assists), Murphy with 18 and Herb Jones with 17. Wembenyama was inactive, by the way. Jump on a plane (without CJ as I understand it) to visit Chicago tomorrow night.
Pelicans 127, Kings 117 After a disappointing road loss Saturday at Chicago, Pels pull out a gritty win in Sacramento to advance to the semis of the in-season tournament. Kings came out gunning, hit 12 of their first 14 shots and led by 15 halfway through the first quarter. Then the subs started coming in; Murphy, Alvarado and Marshall completely changed the energy of the game. Pels took the lead early in the second quarter and never trailed again, despite several runs from the Kings. Ingram with 30 pts, 8 reb, 6 assists to lead the way. Jones had 23, Valanciunas 18 and 11. Next play the Lakers/Suns winner Thursday night in Vegas.
Pelicans 121, Timberwolves 107 Excellent response to the Vegas nightmare, beating the (Anthony Edwards-less) team with the league's best record. Things were sluggish for about a quarter and a half, but when the Pels got Rudy Gobert in foul trouble and made him tentative on defense, Zion went off. Season-high 36 (more on him below), while CJ added 23, Ingram with 20 and another Jonas double-double. And credit the coaching staff for going to a switching double team on Karl Anthony Towns in the second half. He had 15 points on perfect shooting in the first half, and was held to 2 FT's in the second. Pels now go on a 3-game road trip, all against teams that are below .500. Loved Zion's response yesterday to the media's roasting him after Vegas. And while I agree that he looks overweight (and have always loved Barkley's reiterated opinion that he needs a veteran mentor to keep him focused on conditioning) and not engaged in Vegas, I think some of the criticism was over-the-top and didn't take the season as a whole into account. I watch him this season and I think of Alvin Kamara running out of bounds in September instead of taking on tacklers near the sidelines. It was a bad look then, but in December he's initiating contact and moving piles. He was avoiding punishment and extending his effectiveness. Zion's numbers are not far off what he did last year (minus 3 points and 1 rebound, equal assists per game), but what's really missing are the drives with reckless abandon to the rack for highlight reel dunks. I think he's trying to avoid unnecessary wear and tear on his lower body. If so, I think its a good move, but he also needs to be more aware of the times when he needs to take some chances and carry the team.
