T-Wolves 111, Pels 102. Ingram scored 13 but was covered in rust. But his presence was obvious, as it clearly affected how the T-Wolves defensed them, and it created better looks for the other guys, at least in the first half. Everything came apart in the third quarter. Minny came out on fire and we left everything in the locker room. Score for the quarter was something like 39-20 and couldn't climb all the way back. Willie Green was ejected for the first time as head coach. Fortunately, both Denver and Memphis lost, so no ground lost in either the conference or division races.
from a william guillory article in the athletic regarding the Pels and the trade deadline: “The quest for information goes deeper than this. It would be one thing if teams watched their mostly healthy lineups play these last three months and concluded they were just completely, utterly average. While one or two teams might fall in this camp (hi, Portland), the vast majority have zigged and zagged to this point in a series of fits and starts defined mostly by key absences to star player Nowhere has that been more true than in New Orleans, where the Pelicans have rather suddenly lost six in a row and 11 of 14, culminating in Wednesday’s disappointing setback against the very-alive Minnesota Timberwolves. In a related story, New Orleans has only had All-Star forwards Brandon Ingram and Zion Willamson on the court together for a dozen games this season. They haven’t had Williamson since Jan. 2 and just got Ingram back from a 29-game absence Wednesday. Wait, it gets better. Williamson and Ingram have been teammates for four years and played a total of 92 games together, the vast majority of which came in a 2020-21 season that predated the arrival of virtually every other important player on this roster. Thus, the key piece of information on how the Pelicans need to build their team — how things look with their two max contracts playing together — is a blank. Is there enough shooting? Is there enough defense? Can defensive ace Herb Jones shoehorn into these lineups even while shooting 27.8 percent from 3? What about post-masher Jonas Valančiūnas defending next to Williamson? Who knows? Or maybe New Orleans should just plan for one or the other of the two stars being available but never both. Neither has played more than 62 games in a season since 2017-18. It’s maddening because the Pelicans, if they wanted, could control the trade deadline. Think of any star player who might become available, and New Orleans has the means to go and get him. (Particularly, if we pretend for a moment there is no such thing as the luxury tax.) Sitting on an unprotected 2024 first from the Lakers with a right of deferral and another unprotected 2027 first from Milwaukee, New Orleans has the draft capital to raise eyebrows in 29 other front-office conference rooms. The Pels also have a roster heavily stocked with good young players who could be trade assets (notably rookie lottery pick Dyson Daniels, who sprained his ankle on Tuesday and was bouncing around Smoothie King Center on crutches and in a walking boot Wednesday) and the ability to amass expiring or palatable contracts to put a deal together (Jaxson Hayes, Garrett Temple and Devonte’ Graham being the most likely suspects). But any guesses as to what New Orleans’ missing piece might be is mostly conjecture. The Pels just haven’t had enough reps with key players to know. That level of uncertainty is vexing enough when we’re talking about trades for back-end role players, but putting another headliner around Williamson, Ingram and CJ McCollum is a delicate undertaking.”
@kcal Guillory's concerns about BI and Zion's health are legit, but I feel like people are overreacting to the last 15 games. Too many injuries have forced too many players to play roles they weren't intended to in this roster configuration. The last paragraph is a great wrap to the article. I'd rather see us gamble on getting and keeping the key pieces healthy than to make a trade move for someone who might mess up team chemistry. It hardly means we'd be giving up on this season, the way a lot of fake fans think. These clowns talk like if we don't get the number one seed, the season is lost. No need to blow up a roster this talented and this young. Another thought... the guy I'm most disappointed in during this slide, the guy who's really blown his chance to step up and be the man, is Trey Murphy. a. He's shooting a little better than 39% from 3-pt range; that's best on the team and about 40th in the league. But he rarely appears to be looking for his shot. He reminds me of Jayden Daniels for the first half of the football season, refusing to throw the ball unless his target had a 3 yard cushion. Murphy simply will not shoot the three if there's a defender anywhere near him. b. Murphy is second in the NBA in FT%, better than 93% But he averages just 1.9 FT attempts a game. Among the top 50 in the league in percentage, that's dead last. Murphy has quickness, length and explosiveness off the floor; he can finish at the rim with a flourish. He should be driving to the goal 10 times a game, and either getting a dunk or 2 from the line. Bright side; he's only 22.
Willie basically conceded the Milwaukee game Sunday by resting BI and CJ, but they were still somewhat competitive without them. Kira Lewis got considerable minutes and played very well, and I still don't understand why Graham is playing and he's not. Maybe that changes tonight. They finally figured out Hernangomez needs to be playing ahead of Jaxson Hayes, after all. BI and CJ will be back in the lineup tonight at Denver, national TV game on TNT. Should get an update on Zion's progress sometime today.
Andrew Lopez reports Zion did some running today, another evaluation in a week. He has to play soon to be eligible for the ASG. Speaking of which.... Murphy and Alvarado will play in the Rising Stars game. Murphy in the slam dunk contest.
CLICK! Pels beat the Lakers Saturday to halt the losing streak, and just like that, everything is all better. Last night, no Ingram (resting in the second game of a back-to-back), no Jonas (twisted knee, so they rested him), still no Zion or Dyson, and taking on the West 3rd seed and highest scoring team in the league Sacramento. Pels 136, Kings 104. Click!, and just like that, they look like they remembered everything they had been doing right in the first half of the season. Ball movement, moving without the ball, disrupting the opponent's passing lanes. Murphy was most impressive with a season-high 30. The combo of Nance and Hernangomez made Jonas look expendable (granted, Kings don't have a strong presence inside). Pels had fallen all the way to 11th with the losing streak, back to 9th now, but still just a game and a half out of 4th, 2 and a half out of 3rd. Ingram and Jonas will be back tomorrow when Atlanta comes in, we'll see if the transformation holds.
Pels 116, Hawks 107. Team looking more and more like they did at the end of last year. Bad news is, team now says Zion won't play until after the All Star game. Really frustrating that they've dragged this out the way they have. Assuming he comes back immediately after the ASG, that means he's out 7 weeks. And considering they've told us with each update that he's progressing exactly as hoped, they must have known it would be that long from the beginning. So why not just say it outright? Instead, we get these vague progress reports, starting from the beginning with "we'll evaluate in 2 weeks", which everyone thought meant he could play in 2 weeks. That was now clearly never a possibility, but they keep giving us this false hope. Worst of all, it now looks to me like they weren't honest with him, since he spoke often about being back in time to play in the ASG. He was not on the bench last night like he has been throughout this layoff, and can't help but wonder if he is angry about the situation as well.
Durant to the Suns for Bridges, others and 4 number 1's. Lakers, Jazz and T-Wolves make 3-way trade, Westbrook to Utah, D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley to LA.
Trade deadline is 3:00 today, and most of the conversation has the Pels talking to Toronto about OG Anunoby. Others propose they should be talking to Brooklyn about Bridges and Nic Claxton, which I would love to see (I'd offer Jonas, Graham and a couple of ones') but don't see that from any reputable sources.
No splash move at the deadline, but Graham and a handful of 2nd round picks sent to San Antonio for veteran journeyman shooting guard Josh Richardson. He gives the Pels a big guard in the second unit that can drive to the rack and is a better defender than Graham. Its a wash as far as 3-point range goes (Graham is a career 35% shooter from 3, Richardson is 36%)
