Pelicans @ Nuggets

[Bricklayer]

Quick question: did you start following the Pels because they got DeMarcus? It doesn't invalidate your opinions, but I notice you seem to have joined up here around the same time he did. Is he the reason you follow the team?

Oh, do not worry about soft selling the inquiry. I am rather proudly an outsider. A fairly well known one too in other parts of the interwebs.

And yes, I obviously showed up here because of Boogie, although it goes deeper than that. You know what really annoys me? That many chunks of this fanbase are so busy staring at their navels and wallowing in invented misery that they don't see the potential, not just of a random Pelicans team. Because frankly the world doesn't care about a random Pelicans team. But THIS Pelicans team. This first Twin Towers team in 20 years, to be freaking IMPORTANT. This team could lead the charge that changes the whole arc of the NBA.

And yes yes, proudly an outsider. And an outsider with a perspective that makes me shake my head at woe is me stuff. You know where I was before this? The Sacramento Kings. You know who the other teams I have followed that I have been getting reaquainted with are? The Knicks and the Sixers. Do you know how much collective misery there has been in the last 15 years for those franchises? So for people here to constantly be kvetching about how awful it is, how horrible it has always been, how it's all hopeless etc. etc. etc. leaves me utterly unimpressed. I've seen horrible and hopeless. I've been with a fanbase that literally thought they would not have a team by noon the next day. And yet they showed more hope and fight than...well, I do not want to get too insulting here. But you guys need to seriously buck up and listen to your more positive angels. Things are NOT that bad.

And the bizarre thing is this -- you go hang out with Knicks fans, and their team is 15-13 and they are damn excited about it. Porzingod! The Unicorn! Never mind they are still owned by Dolan who could screw it all up at any moment, still coached by the same retread they had last year, still burdened by Joakim Noah's contract. They are up, enthused, and appreciating the rebirth.

And you go hang with Sixers fans, and their team is 14-14 and they are damn excited about it. The Process baby! Never mind the half a dozen years of abject misery, massive injuries, controversy, and blatant tanking it took to get here. Never mind it's the same coach. Never mind they are GM'd by Bryan Colangelo(!). No, it's woot! Bring on the future! When is Embiid winning the MVP?

Then you show up here, the team is 15-15, you've got two superstars, and yet things turn ridiculous every team the team dares to lose, even against a quality opponent. Because obviously they will never win again, it's all hopeless, everything needs to be turned over, they are all losers who don't want to win etc. etc. The takes are startlingly irrational.

[jprdbulldog20]

Oh, do not worry about soft selling the inquiry. I am rather proudly an outsider. A fairly well known one too in other parts of the interwebs.

And yes, I obviously showed up here because of Boogie, although it goes deeper than that. You know what really annoys me? That many chunks of this fanbase are so busy staring at their navels and wallowing in invented misery that they don't see the potential, not just of a random Pelicans team. Because frankly the world doesn't care about a random Pelicans team. But THIS Pelicans team. This first Twin Towers team in 20 years, to be freaking IMPORTANT. This team could lead the charge that changes the whole arc of the NBA.

And yes yes, proudly an outsider. And an outsider with a perspective that makes me shake my head at woe is me stuff. You know where I was before this? The Sacramento Kings. You know who the other teams I have followed that I have been getting reaquainted with are? The Knicks and the Sixers. Do you know how much collective misery there has been in the last 15 years for those franchises? So for people here to constantly be kvetching about how awful it is, how horrible it has always been, how it's all hopeless etc. etc. etc. leaves me utterly unimpressed. I've seen horrible and hopeless. I've been with a fanbase that literally thought they would not have a team by noon the next day. And yet they showed more hope and fight than...well, I do not want to get too insulting here. But you guys need to seriously buck up and listen to your more positive angels. Things are NOT that bad.

And the bizarre thing is this -- you go hang out with Knicks fans, and their team is 15-13 and they are damn excited about it. Porzingod! The Unicorn! Never mind they are still owned by Dolan who could screw it all up at any moment, still coached by the same retread they had last year, still burdened by Joakim Noah's contract. They are up, enthused, and appreciating the rebirth.

And you go hang with Sixers fans, and their team is 14-14 and they are damn excited about it. The Process baby! Never mind the half a dozen years of abject misery, massive injuries, controversy, and blatant tanking it took to get here. Never mind it's the same coach. Never mind they are GM'd by Bryan Colangelo(!). No, it's woot! Bring on the future! When is Embiid winning the MVP?

Then you show up here, the team is 15-15, you've got two superstars, and yet things turn ridiculous every team the team dares to lose, even against a quality opponent. Because obviously they will never win again, it's all hopeless, everything needs to be turned over, they are all losers who don't want to win etc. etc. The takes are startlingly irrational.

We were optimistic with being average for years after we got AD. We wondered when he would win MVP. Then we got this guy named DeMarcus who was going to take us to the next level. We weren't going to have to worry about just being .500. We weren't going to have to worry about hoping we make the playoffs. Needless to say, we are still extremely frustrated. This team should be a lot better than their record.

[Mythrol]

This team should be a lot better than their record.

This is the jist of it. We are NOT the Knicks, we are NOT Philly, we are NOT the Kings.

Everyone is saying we have 2 of the top 20 players in the league and 1 that's top 5. Yet we are still struggling to just make the playoffs.

We are the Thunder of this year. Do you think their fanbase is happy with how things are going? Heck no.

Something has to happen. We cannot continue to go away from our system to close out games and run Cousins Iso's all 4th qtr while he is in the game. We have just lost 5 double digits leads doing exactly that.

[pelicanchamp]

If this continues we need to fire Gentry especially if he doesn’t make adjustments with cousins. He also has to draw plays that help us close out games. I️ do think the biggest problem is coaching. Run plays with rondo and Jrue as the main facilitators. Put cousins in the high post and do more pick and roll. Also maybe give Asik a few more minutes. Would also consider doing a trade for a young SF or a vet.


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[Eman5805]

This is the jist of it. We are NOT the Knicks, we are NOT Philly, we are NOT the Kings.

Everyone is saying we have 2 of the top 20 players in the league and 1 that's top 5. Yet we are still struggling to just make the playoffs.

We are the Thunder of this year. Do you think their fanbase is happy with how things are going? Heck no.

Something has to happen. We cannot continue to go away from our system to close out games and run Cousins Iso's all 4th qtr while he is in the game. We have just lost 5 double digits leads doing exactly that.

The Thunder have been to the Finals though. We've never gotten out of the 2nd round.

That said...their suffering can be our boon.

If Paul George is not likely to stay, what if we make a desperate ploy? We aren't keeping that first we got this year, even though we totally should. So why not flip it for a half season to try and convince PG that NOLA is the next big thing inspite of our fearless leader.


Who is a total jerk in public and wouldn't even say "Hey" when I said "How you doing, coach?" at Costco.

[luckyman]

Tell that to OKC. Or Philly. Or Minnesota last year.

Or meanwhile explain San Antonio and the utter irrelevance, indeed apparent damaging nature of Kawhi Leonard. It takes a team. And an organized one.

You guys are really quite ridiculous. You've had jack and squat forever. Now you have an OBVIOUSLY competitive team in OBVIOUS contention for a playoff spot, with two OBVIOUS All Stars, and you are flipping out. Issues.

Jack squat forever? The first Hornets teams here made the playoffs every year. Including most of the CP3 teams. They've hit a lull only recently and half of that lull was on purpose to rebuild the team around Davis.

They'll make the playoffs again this year but the coaching won't get them past the 1st round. That isn't jack squat like say...Minnesota or Sacramento.

[Mythrol]

The Thunder have been to the Finals though. We've never gotten out of the 2nd round.

That said...their suffering can be our boon.

If Paul George is not likely to stay, what if we make a desperate ploy? We aren't keeping that first we got this year, even though we totally should. So why not flip it for a half season to try and convince PG that NOLA is the next big thing inspite of our fearless leader.


Who is a total jerk in public and wouldn't even say "Hey" when I said "How you doing, coach?" at Costco.

The Thunders team this year has NOT been to the finals. That's my entire point and why we compare far closer to them than this year's Knicks or Philly. We have similar talent but both teams are grossly underachieving from what they should be.

This isn't a "feel good story" about some scrappy young team that is finally coming around. We are the 3rd oldest team in the league, filled with vets who have been deep in the playoffs or won rings, and yet every loss is exactly the same. Even our wins recently have been in spite of tons of turnovers and continued refusal to run our system for 48 minutes a game.


As far as Gentry goes, I've met him on the street and he was pleasant to talk to. My guess is middle of season he probably didn't hear you and had tons of things on his mind.

[6warddude]

gentry thought he had reke on the team drawing up that last play lol......reke was the pelican that could get to the rim at will in iso.....

[Bricklayer]

Minnesota just lost on it's home floor vs. the Suns.

I can only imagine the hot takes around here if that happened to the Pels. Should Thibs be fired? How many of KAT/Wiggins/Butler should be traded before Christmas?

[AusPel]

Great results for us today except for Portland v Hornets

[Rel11]

Minnesota just lost on it's home floor vs. the Suns.

I can only imagine the hot takes around here if that happened to the Pels. Should Thibs be fired? How many of KAT/Wiggins/Butler should be traded before Christmas?

Thibs has a better chance at getting fired for this than Gentry does for ANYTHING so far. Lol. Gentry must be threatening to leak Dell’s nudes if he gets fired.

[Bricklayer]

Thibs has a better chance at getting fired for this than Gentry does for ANYTHING so far. Lol. Gentry must be threatening to leak Dell’s nudes if he gets fired.

Coach Thibs has all the dirt on GM Thibs, and knows where he hides his nude selfies.

[Rel11]

Coach Thibs has all the dirt on GM Thibs, and knows where he hides his nude selfies.

Lmao. The Mavs just lost in Pels fashion. The Spurs went on a 13-0 run to win the game.

[luckyman]

Minnesota just lost on it's home floor vs. the Suns.

I can only imagine the hot takes around here if that happened to the Pels. Should Thibs be fired? How many of KAT/Wiggins/Butler should be traded before Christmas?

It did happen around here. Just last week to a team with a worse record than the Suns.

[wnelson]

You need to chill out.

Nuggets are now 11-2 at home. One of the toughest places to play in the league. The only team that has beaten them there since October is the Warriors. Pels took them to OT. Suffered a random turnover late off a Davis sprained ankle. Drew up a couple of sincerely terrible plays late.

Pretty much all o dis

[new city champ]

Oh, do not worry about soft selling the inquiry. I am rather proudly an outsider. A fairly well known one too in other parts of the interwebs.

And yes, I obviously showed up here because of Boogie, although it goes deeper than that. You know what really annoys me? That many chunks of this fanbase are so busy staring at their navels and wallowing in invented misery that they don't see the potential, not just of a random Pelicans team. Because frankly the world doesn't care about a random Pelicans team. But THIS Pelicans team. This first Twin Towers team in 20 years, to be freaking IMPORTANT. This team could lead the charge that changes the whole arc of the NBA.

And yes yes, proudly an outsider. And an outsider with a perspective that makes me shake my head at woe is me stuff. You know where I was before this? The Sacramento Kings. You know who the other teams I have followed that I have been getting reaquainted with are? The Knicks and the Sixers. Do you know how much collective misery there has been in the last 15 years for those franchises? So for people here to constantly be kvetching about how awful it is, how horrible it has always been, how it's all hopeless etc. etc. etc. leaves me utterly unimpressed. I've seen horrible and hopeless. I've been with a fanbase that literally thought they would not have a team by noon the next day. And yet they showed more hope and fight than...well, I do not want to get too insulting here. But you guys need to seriously buck up and listen to your more positive angels. Things are NOT that bad.

And the bizarre thing is this -- you go hang out with Knicks fans, and their team is 15-13 and they are damn excited about it. Porzingod! The Unicorn! Never mind they are still owned by Dolan who could screw it all up at any moment, still coached by the same retread they had last year, still burdened by Joakim Noah's contract. They are up, enthused, and appreciating the rebirth.

And you go hang with Sixers fans, and their team is 14-14 and they are damn excited about it. The Process baby! Never mind the half a dozen years of abject misery, massive injuries, controversy, and blatant tanking it took to get here. Never mind it's the same coach. Never mind they are GM'd by Bryan Colangelo(!). No, it's woot! Bring on the future! When is Embiid winning the MVP?

Then you show up here, the team is 15-15, you've got two superstars, and yet things turn ridiculous every team the team dares to lose, even against a quality opponent. Because obviously they will never win again, it's all hopeless, everything needs to be turned over, they are all losers who don't want to win etc. etc. The takes are startlingly irrational.

Just asking because you often seem more concerned with Cousins than with the team. As a New Orleanian and a season ticket holder, my interest in the team runs much deeper than any one player. Part of being a fan of a team, as you note with with the Sixers, is that you don't really give a damn what "the world" thinks about your team. The fans are going to support the team whether DeMarcus stays or goes. They are going to support the team whether AD stays or goes. Their attachment is different than yours and I think that fact may explain the differing perspectives .

As for the state of the team, I think it's mainly about expectations. When Chris Paul left and we were awful for a couple of years, it didn't phase me at all. Of course we were going to be awful. I went to the games and enjoyed myself. When we got a stroke of good fortune and lucked into drafting Davis, my perspective began to change. As acquiring a franchise superstar is the bedrock of building a winning team, I began to have expectations and expectations breed impatience. I don't think it's wrong to have expectations. The "process" can't last forever (even in Philly) and we are in Year 6 of the Davis era. So far we have managed one winning season and one playoff appearance, where we were swept. You might say the Kings were even worse with Cousins and I might agree, but that fan base should be even more perturbed by their organization's failure to build a winner with him at the core and I'm sure many are and were. On the other side of the ledger several teams, including the Celtics, T-Wolves and Bucks have built solid young cores that have them in position to win for years to come in fewer years than the Pels have had Davis or the Kings had Cousins. It can be done.

This Pels team built around Davis and Cousins is an experiment and I'm not at all sure the results are back from the lab. It looks like it can score. Whether or not it can win or defend anyone is TBD. I was in the (distinct) minority that wasn't thrilled with the Cousins trade. He was obviously talented, but I thought the baggage he brought with him and trying to fit him next to Davis was problematic. Watching Cousins play week-in and week-out, he's even more talented than I knew and I think he's been a good teammate, the guys all seem to like him and obviously he's great in the community. But I'm still not sure he and Davis work. Nor am I sure the Pels resources might not have been better spent getting a top-tier wing to play with Davis. If you asked me even today if I'd rather have DeMarcus or, say, Vucevic and Fournier from the Magic (another rumored deal at the deadline), I'd still take two above-average role players at center and wing who fit over the obvious super star Cousins, strictly on fit. Most would not take that trade off, but I like the Spurs model--don't rely principally on stars; make the system the star and get players who fit it and fit together.

The Pels may yet end up meshing better than I thought, but I still see something else missing at the heart of this team. There is a lack of a certain kind of consistent intensity of effort that may limit them. When I see teams like the Sixers or the Nuggets crashing the glass for rebounds or selling out to get to the shooters, I see something the Pels don't have, at least not all the time. I don't blame Cousins for that, but he doesn't help a team that already struggled to play with effort all the time. Stars set the tone for the team and for all his talent, I don't want the team to take on Cousin's personality on the floor. He's passionate, but undisciplined and he lets his emotions interfere with his effort and decision making too often and at the wrong times.

Keep up the good posts. Always need some outside perspective!

[pelicanchamp]

The pelicans have really disappointed me because of how many games they’ve given away. I️ do think it’s coaching that is the main problem. I️ think most coaches in the league would have a hard time managing personalities like Rondo and Cousins. There are no moral victories. We lost to Houston and we let them take over in the 4th which is a theme for us. We should have won that game. I️ don’t care how good Houston is or how AD and others were out, we had control and we blew it. The Sacramento game was awful and inexcusable. We should’ve beat Denver last game but we didn’t put them away and cousins had 9 turnovers. He’s number one in the league for turnovers and sometimes he’s jogging back to play defense. Gentry can do a better job managing the rotations and keeping the team focused. We need better clutch performances from our guys. Our losses to GSW were expected but we had commanding leads in two of those games, we need to play smarter ball. We need to hold the pels to a high standard. They are full of talent.
I️ think Gentry has to limit Cousins minutes if he starts to constantly turn the ball over. Asik seems fine for 15-20min. Asik with AD and Jrue and Jameer and Cunningham would be an interesting lineup.

Also: Rondo, AD, Jrue, Diallo, and Miller.

We need adjustments. I️ don’t know the answers but I️ really believe we should be 18-12 or 19-11 right now. 15–15 is acceptable but a few 4-5 game winning streak needs to happen soon. Also, when we get Hill back it’ll be interesting because his defense is so good that I️ think he will affect the entire defense when he’s back.


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[AusPel]

Oh, do not worry about soft selling the inquiry. I am rather proudly an outsider. A fairly well known one too in other parts of the interwebs.

And yes, I obviously showed up here because of Boogie, although it goes deeper than that. You know what really annoys me? That many chunks of this fanbase are so busy staring at their navels and wallowing in invented misery that they don't see the potential, not just of a random Pelicans team. Because frankly the world doesn't care about a random Pelicans team. But THIS Pelicans team. This first Twin Towers team in 20 years, to be freaking IMPORTANT. This team could lead the charge that changes the whole arc of the NBA.

And yes yes, proudly an outsider. And an outsider with a perspective that makes me shake my head at woe is me stuff. You know where I was before this? The Sacramento Kings. You know who the other teams I have followed that I have been getting reaquainted with are? The Knicks and the Sixers. Do you know how much collective misery there has been in the last 15 years for those franchises? So for people here to constantly be kvetching about how awful it is, how horrible it has always been, how it's all hopeless etc. etc. etc. leaves me utterly unimpressed. I've seen horrible and hopeless. I've been with a fanbase that literally thought they would not have a team by noon the next day. And yet they showed more hope and fight than...well, I do not want to get too insulting here. But you guys need to seriously buck up and listen to your more positive angels. Things are NOT that bad.

And the bizarre thing is this -- you go hang out with Knicks fans, and their team is 15-13 and they are damn excited about it. Porzingod! The Unicorn! Never mind they are still owned by Dolan who could screw it all up at any moment, still coached by the same retread they had last year, still burdened by Joakim Noah's contract. They are up, enthused, and appreciating the rebirth.

And you go hang with Sixers fans, and their team is 14-14 and they are damn excited about it. The Process baby! Never mind the half a dozen years of abject misery, massive injuries, controversy, and blatant tanking it took to get here. Never mind it's the same coach. Never mind they are GM'd by Bryan Colangelo(!). No, it's woot! Bring on the future! When is Embiid winning the MVP?

Then you show up here, the team is 15-15, you've got two superstars, and yet things turn ridiculous every team the team dares to lose, even against a quality opponent. Because obviously they will never win again, it's all hopeless, everything needs to be turned over, they are all losers who don't want to win etc. etc. The takes are startlingly irrational.

I really like your perspective on things. You're hired!

[luigi modelo]

Thank you Bricklayer!! Your post above reflects where I stand on the state of the team. I have to add that my love of the Buffalo Bills has helped me in finding patience when it comes to sports. Because of this, I will remain patient with the development of AD/Boogie, because like you, I think that they can change the arc of the NBA.

[da ThRONe]

Where in my post does it state that it doesn't takes an organization to be well run from top to bottom to win in this league?

I'm simply pointing out that there's obvious risk in trying to retain Cousins beyond this year. Also that the future of NBA basketball in the city of New Orleans isn't necessarily linked to Boogie or AD for that matter.

[AusPel]

Hezonja hit 8 threes today

Let's go git

[boardtown]

Also that the future of NBA basketball in the city of New Orleans isn't necessarily linked to Boogie or AD for that matter.

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

- Robert Frost, NBA Pelicans Fan

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

Hezonja hit 8 threes today

Let's go git

Rivers has hit about that in a game this season....you want him?

[bahmamamba]

Rivers has hit about that in a game this season....you want him?

lmao,flavor of the month or game? lol

[Eman5805]

Where in my post does it state that it doesn't takes an organization to be well run from top to bottom to win in this league?

I'm simply pointing out that there's obvious risk in trying to retain Cousins beyond this year. Also that the future of NBA basketball in the city of New Orleans isn't necessarily linked to Boogie or AD for that matter.

People are still stuck on that attendance benchmark scare from YEARS ago.

I think the Pels future is pretty secure, succeed or failure with AD and Cousins.