January 17th - New Orleans Pelicans vs Charlotte Hornets - 24-17

Back in NOLA! See you tonight!

��: vs Hornets
��: 7:00 pm CT
��: @BallySportsNO
��: @995WRNO#Pelicans | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/Ayes4E9HlK

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 17, 2024

Weird game last time out, horrible first quarter, really good 2nd and 3rd, horrible 4th. Was like switches getting flipped. Criticism for many players in that one.

Tonight's a new night and the Pelicans look to return to the win column against the Hornets. They Hornets are 8-29, have gone 2-18 over their last 20 games, and are miserable. They're bottom 3 in ORtg and Drtg, resulting in being the league's worst Net Rating. They are 4-16 on the road so far this season. They're bottom 6 in FG%, 3pt%, and barely league average at the FT line. They turn it over a lot, they don't generate stocks, and they're bottom 3 in assists.

Hornets suck. They really are awful. No excuse for a loss tonight: let's see the team do what we know they can, and pick up a win.

Let's go.

They do suck, but Ball is back and tends to give us fits.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PELICANSFAN

They do suck, but Ball is back and tends to give us fits.

---

Last time we played him was 2021-22, so in fairness the Pels team he troubled looked very different to the Pels team we have now. We didn't even have Dyson on the roster last time he was active against us.

Game's starting off well enough, Zion and BI both off to an efficient opening but CJ currently showing out as the hot hand

Look, I can't be certain, but I feel like if we shoot 80% from 3 all night, we will win

Fantastic first quarter from BI, bouncing back well

A little pitiful to only be up 7.

Sloppy end to the first quarter, but 16 assists on 16 makes in a quarter is hard to argue with. 9-12 from three 75%.

But Hornets shooting 50/55/100 for the quarter, so its clear we're not winning with DEFENSE.

Defense is atrocious for both team. We score 43 points in the quarter and are only up by seven. We have to be better than this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by As I See It

Defense is atrocious for both team. We score 43 points in the quarter and are only up by seven. We have to be better than this.

---

If it wasn't for our blistering OFFENSE, we'd be behind.

Hawkins bombing as well

This is the 3pt game

Trey from 3

We're up 16

19 assists on 19 made shots to start the game. Wonder what the NBA record is to start a game?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RobertM320

If it wasn't for our blistering OFFENSE, we'd be behind.

---

Yep...but shooting comes and goes. Defense should be your staple..

Max 197 was just standing there watching everyone fight for the defensive rebound. He plays with heart....

ONLY ON ONE SIDE OF THE COURT!!!

Pathetic!!!

Willie is really bad. Sheesh. I’ve never seen someone go away from what’s working more than this guy.

NBA officiating is such garbage

As I type all of BI's made FG's are three pointers.

Man, if we ever get Hawk and Matt Ryan on the floor at the same time, game's over.

Pels took 45 3s tonight, what a dream

Also, great game from Hawk, demonstrating again why he needs those minutes

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RobertM320

Man, if we ever get Hawk and Matt Ryan on the floor at the same time, game's over.

---

We did at the start of the season. Matt Ryan + CJ McCollum + Hawkins + JV remains one of our best 4 man lineups on the year so far.

25-47 from 3, 51 rebounds, including 17 offensive boards.

BI 28/10/10
Zion 13/6/9
CJ 22/6/6


3pts:
BI 7-11
Hawk 6-9
Trey 5-12
CJ 4-9

Tim Hardeway Jr currently 0-7 from three tonight, 12pts total. Kyrie 0-3 from three so far, 9 points. Dallas trailing Lakers by 17, late in the 3rd.

Man, that's only BI's 3rd career triple double? He's like 6 '10 and has a crazy long wingspan. His passing does look much better this year though. I can see more in his future if they play this Borrego ball movement offense where every bucket is off of an assist. Fun to watch everybody moving the ball.

We gotta improve offensive rebounding though. That was atrocious seeing them multiple times getting 3 chances on one trip down the court.

Happy for BI. He NEEDED that. Been rough for him lately. Glad we actually used our shooters tonight too.

And let me say this. When you have this many stars, sometimes they forget that one guy that will make you pay for not taking them seriously. Other teams can only cover so many guys so sometimes you have to rely on that other option. Hawk is a legit scorer. Teams will learn it sooner rather than later.

I just watched first half, i think we played like high school basketball team. Running all over the floor, no organized plays and no defense. Allowed quite a few offensive rebounds also. And what i need to notice, Trey is taking some duuumb shoots lately, not sure if his shot quality in 2nd half was better, but first was questionable to say the least. If we play like this(i repeat, i watched only 1st half) against Suns they will destroy us.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mrakar

I just watched first half, i think we played like high school basketball team. Running all over the floor, no organized plays and no defense. Allowed quite a few offensive rebounds also. And what i need to notice, Trey is taking some duuumb shoots lately, not sure if his shot quality in 2nd half was better, but first was questionable to say the least. If we play like this(i repeat, i watched only 1st half) against Suns they will destroy us.

---

I agree; the first half was awful. And you are right; 3M3 is not playing like this is a contract year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RobertM320

Tim Hardeway Jr currently 0-7 from three tonight, 12pts total. Kyrie 0-3 from three so far, 9 points. Dallas trailing Lakers by 17, late in the 3rd.

---

But of course.

Love to see BI break out of his slump, it was only a couple of weeks. He's too good to be down for long, but the fact that he did it from behind the arc makes it special. Trey and Jordan both with double digit 3 point attempts is a recipe for success

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Love to see BI break out of his slump, it was only a couple of weeks. He's too good to be down for long, but the fact that he did it from behind the arc makes it special. Trey and Jordan both with double digit 3 point attempts is a recipe for success

---

BI was 1 of 8 on2-point shots which are normally his bread and butter. I don't understand it, but I would not say he is out of his slump until he gets closer to 60% on his mid-range and shows a bit more concentration on the defensive end....