December 7th - New Orleans Pelicans VS Los Angeles Lakers - VEGAS - 12-10

Zion needs to wake up

I will take Zion fat as our third game, I don't see any sense of urgency from him. Being a one trick pony in games like this will exist you

Win or lose, experience at this intensity level is so valuable. I think we're better than the Lakers but you can tell they're locked in at a higher level. Especially compared to Zion. Not faulting Zion. You can just tell he isn't matching the intensity. But he hasn't really ever played meaningful NBA games. This is great experience.

ALL NBA Reffs should get hemorrhoids

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

Win or lose, experience at this intensity level is so valuable. I think we're better than the Lakers but you can tell they're locked in at a higher level. Especially compared to Zion. Not faulting Zion. You can just tell he isn't matching the intensity. But he hasn't really ever played meaningful NBA games. This is great experience.

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Lebron has elevated his intensity beyond everyone on the court

Lakers getting every call

We stopped taking 3s

Lakers are 11/19 from deep

Lebron's enaged

What can you do?

Just need to stay in it. They're hitting and we're not. Hopefully that changes in the 2nd.

CJ hero-ball chucking is one of the most frustrating things to watch.

Our biggest advantage should have been 3 point shooting and it seems like they’re easily beating us there. And then rebounding..

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Originally Posted by donato

CJ hero-ball chucking is one of the most frustrating things to watch.

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Yep

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Lebron has elevated his intensity beyond everyone on the court

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The opposite of what Zion is doing. From what I?m seeing, Zion has zero interest in competing at this level.

Someone tell me when half time’s over

Zion needs to get called up or out which ever while chooses but he needs to hear something directed to him specifically

Things that need to change in the second half:

- Rebounding intensity. JV has 1 rebound, when does that happen? Zion has 2, also not good enough.
- Offensive co-ordination. CJ has been making some ridiculous choices this game, and some of the shot selection in that awful dead spot we had was dreadful team wide. No one knows what they're supposed to be doing, so talk about it halftime.
- Zion needs to wake up on both ends. We're not running stuff for him but he needs to run it for himself. That pullup jumper at the end of the quarter was a good start. Similarly, there have been a handful of decent defensive moments but overall it's been awful. I was giving him credit for his defense against Sabonis the other game, where has that gone?
- Green needs to get a tech about this reffing.

All this can be reduced to, in a way,
- JV rebound more
- Zion, be like 40 times more assertive
- CJ, stop playing hero ball
- Willie Green get a spine

Zion is solely the reason for this problem. His energy is so bad that it’s killing the team.

T. Prince was 3-20 from 3pt range during the IST coming into tonight. So tonight he's 4-6. Lakers as a whole 11-21 from 3, 52%.

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Originally Posted by Freyfamilyreuni

Our biggest advantage should have been 3 point shooting and it seems like they’re easily beating us there. And then rebounding..

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They average 9 made 3s a game. They had 11 this half.

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Originally Posted by Fedupfan

Zion is solely the reason for this problem. His energy is so bad that it’s killing the team.

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Major issue? Yes.

Sole? Nope, we sucked when he was sitting too. Lakers went on a whole run while Zion was on the bench and CJ was doing his iso-ball fun.

Oh and also.

10 minutes from Trey in the first half? He played 30 at SAC.

Dude needs to be on the floor a lot more in the second half. His defense hasn't been great either but Lakers defense doesn't respect our shooting whatsoever and it's making life harder on everyone.

Offense reminds me of the start of the season where Zion and BI kind of take turns running the offense but don’t really play together. I hate to say it but Zion looks really heavy out there.

Get Hawkins on the floor. He'll get 5 or 6 3s up in the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter.

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Originally Posted by RobertM320

Get Hawkins on the floor. He'll get 5 or 6 3s up in the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter.

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Please!!! It's mine boggling. He's been the best player on the court for most the season.

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Originally Posted by stevemadden504

Please!!! It's mine boggling. He's been the best player on the court for most the season.

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I appreciate that you like him but this is just absolutely not true lmao

Those charging calls has Zion out of it...dude get frustrated easy.....he scared to attack and took a jump shot for his last points I think ...

I said I hope Russell was not the odd guy to go off but it prince who is the odd laker to score..

Zion is solely the reason for this problem. His energy is so bad that it’s killing the team.

overpaid cheerleader jaxson hayes probably loving this and over celebrating everything

Turnover from BI getting stifled. Pelicans need to show energy right now, get Jose in the game

Was not expecting this really disappointing

We are just choking. Pure and simple. So many sloppy possessions in the 1st half gave them all of the confidence in the world. Hopefully we can shoot our way back but it is looking grim

This is getting ugly..i prefer these guys went over to the strip clubs rather than the buffets in vegas...

every single time we get excited about our team this happens. then when we get really down on our team they pull out a magic win...#pelslife

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Originally Posted by PaKwAn

This is getting ugly..i prefer these guys went over to the strip clubs rather than the buffets in vegas...

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Or worse yet buffets in the strip club

WG does NOT have them ready to play, Why am I not surprised?

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Originally Posted by JJackisangry

We are just choking. Pure and simple. So many sloppy possessions in the 1st half gave them all of the confidence in the world. Hopefully we can shoot our way back but it is looking grim

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Pretty much.

Zion's looked terrible. BI's been a none-factor for significant stretches. CJ reverted to hero ball tendencies. JV's rebounding vanished and he's spotting up in the corner. 10 minutes total from Trey thus far.

Herb and Jose are the only guys who have looked up to it. Everyone else shrinking from it.

I expected this. The Lakers absolutely hate us. Lebron specifically targets Zion and tries to demoralize him. Anthony always comes out with a grudge. In a one off game, it’s so much easier for the less talented team to win under pressure. Hopefully we take this on the chin and learn. Or better yet come back. At least make it close

If we loose this game,,, it will be a good learning game for us for the playoffs..

Embarassing

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Originally Posted by 6warddude

If we loose this game,,, it will be a good learning game for us for the playoffs..

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We have to survive the play-ins first

WG can not motivate this team, They are playing lazy and uninspired. Getting out hustled by a team that is not that good. I knew the league would not let us win but we have just fed into their hands SMH. This team will never make it to even the semi-finals with Willie

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Originally Posted by 6warddude

If we loose this game,,, it will be a good learning game for us for the playoffs..

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At this point, I?d be happy to see them play with an iota of pride. Entire team should be embarrassed. BI has at least shown some fire and competitiveness in the Phoenix series, but he is not a good defender and does not always show up consistently. Zion is one dimensional and gives zero effort on defense. CJ is not athletic enough to keep up in highly competitive games and wilts like a flower. Sad to say, but this team is not built to make a real run in the postseason. Time to start looking at trade options.

And now that the score is lopsided the refs will even up the FT's

I think the real coaching 1 player on our team requires can only come from a Sports Psychologist. The player I'm think of is a Dumpster Fire.

getting outworked by 40 year old lebron. Hopefully this is a wake up call for this team but I doubt it. Zion has been worrying bad.

Now it’s just sad. I’ll be honest, the Mickey Mouse tournament is the best time for this to happen. Willie really needs to figure out something come postseason. The players need to calm down and trust themselves. The lack of belief is disheartening

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Originally Posted by djrnno

And now that the score is lopsided the refs will even up the FT's

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Can't even blame the reffing here.

It was bad, sure, but team had zero fightback. Every starter other than Herb just completely capitulated. Zion, BI, CJ, JV, all of them crumbled tonight.

Single game plus minus is often misleading but it can, in broad strokes, tell a picture.

Tonight every single Pels started as at least a -22. CJ team worst -38.

Everyone should be ashamed. Refs be damned.

pic.twitter.com/LCW8ANTFUi

— Eric Ray (@EricRayweather) December 8, 2023

Need a little bit of this energy on this team.

Need it from Green too.

Dude is the most spineless coach going right now.

Doesn't manage minutes or rotations like he's serious. Just throws things out to try them. You can get 20 minutes a game every night for weeks and then zero for weeks. Just randomly throws out a lineup he's never played before unprompted. Why not.

We may be the worst coached team in the league

Woj: this just in, Zion has requested that the pelicans leave him in vegas and let him be. He has an unfinished business over there ;)

They play like its playoff game, we play like its pre-season game.