Back at it tonight!
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) November 20, 2021
🏀: vs Indiana
🕕: 6pm CST
📺: @BallySportsNO
📻: @ESPNRadioNOLA#WBD | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/cp4Ud58Lfj
Having picked up a win last game against the Clippers, we take on the Pacers tonight.
Pacers are having a rough year, their 6-11 record thus far a testament to that. They rank 15th in offense and 16th in defense, dead average in both, but they're on a little bit of a skid having lost 3 in a row - including a game to the 4-11 Pistons. They're a team that can be beaten, even by not very good teams. So there's a chance there.
Could we try and go back-to-back, initiating our first winstreak of the season? It would be difficult, of course, but wouldn't that be fun?
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11-20-2021, 09:20 AMPelicanidaeNovember 20th - New Orleans Pelicans vs Indiana Pacers - 3-14
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11-20-2021, 09:55 AMAusPel
For some reason, this game is being televised live in Australia on free to air.
Random azz game to show, but I'm not complaining
Probably won't get the Joel and AD call, though :( -
11-20-2021, 02:06 PMPelicanidae
I think what's weird to me about this season is that despite starting 3-14, which is obviously horribly bad, we're somehow not even particularly far long-term from being in play-in position. We love to talk about tanking, which makes sense given the trajectory of the team so far this year and how much time Zion's missed and whatnot, but the team currently in 10th in the West only has 6 wins.
We have the 2nd worst record in the NBA, but are only 3 games back from the play-in. Which seems like it shouldn't be possible, and yet it is. -
11-20-2021, 03:17 PMHerbJonesFan
I don't understand how thats "weird"
If the bar is only 10th place, it shouldn't be that far out of sight, even if you started 0-17. The 10th place team usually wins 40-44% of their games. Meaning, that through 17 games, they would have won around 6 in almost any season. Even if you started 0-17, you would "only" be 6 games back with 65 left to play. When you look at it that way, of course you could shoot for that fantastic 10th seed. Heck, you can start 0-22 and still only be 8 or 9 games out with 60 left to play in a normal year.
In 2015-16, the 10th place team in the West won 33 games. 34 the year after that, 37 in 2018-19, and so on and so forth. 10th was always gonna be in play, even with a worse start than this. Heck, even when the team is 4-21 after 25, someone will come on here and say "We got some easy games coming up and Zion is coming back, and we are only 6 games out of 10th with 57 left to play!"
If that is the new bar, it is easy for almost any fanbase to find hope, which is why the play in game addition is brilliant. -
11-20-2021, 05:57 PMAs I See It
For the people who believe Zion is 'all that'...a 'play-in' game shouldn't look bad to them right now.
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11-20-2021, 06:18 PMAD-AT
Crazy how much 1 mental error seems to always lead to like a 12-0 run against us this season.
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11-20-2021, 06:23 PMPaKwAn
Why would they match hart up with sabonis?
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11-20-2021, 06:29 PMAusPel
Why is NAW so terrible at throwing alley oops
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11-20-2021, 06:30 PMAD-AT
Please keep shutting me up Kira. I am all for it!
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11-20-2021, 06:37 PMAusPel
Just watch the ball roll out of bounds boys
That's the way -
11-20-2021, 06:42 PMPaKwAn
Josh hart has been complaining so much this game
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11-20-2021, 06:46 PMAD-AT
Hart's 1 on 3 fast break turnovers are getting old
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11-20-2021, 06:52 PMAs I See It
"Come on, coach, FREE BILLY. JAX is the same player he was three years ago'.
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11-20-2021, 06:53 PMHerbJonesFan
I am just curious if this board thinks Brandon Ingram is a good basketball player. Not a good scorer. Not a good stat putter upper. Is he a good basketball player?
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11-20-2021, 06:55 PMAs I See It
JAX, you play defense with your feet...not your hands.
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11-20-2021, 06:57 PMAusPel
Jax is so bad
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11-20-2021, 06:58 PMAD-AT
Jax is Asik but athletic. Somehow still as awful at catching a pass inside
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11-20-2021, 06:59 PMAusPel
How is that not a foul
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11-20-2021, 07:16 PMragincaucasianNot really.Quote:
Originally Posted by HerbJonesFan
He is way below average defensively, especially with his huge wingspan.
He is decent when he can hit the midrange, which seems to be only 1 game this year.
Doesn't drive to the basket when he's having an off shooting night.
Doesn't pass particularly well.
Is the opposite of clutch. He is a detriment to the team in crunch time.
Will do the ISO Ingram thing which is 100% fail every time.
Not a great rebounder for his size.
Average 3 point shooter (36% this year)
Pros:
He shoots free throws well, unless you really need them. Then he turns into Shaq at the free throw line.
Is a good teammate (I guess?) -
11-20-2021, 07:23 PMAD-AT
NAW is going to have a short career if he can't get this jumpshot under control
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11-20-2021, 07:34 PM6warddudethe whole season..Quote:
Originally Posted by PaKwAn
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11-20-2021, 07:36 PMAs I See It
If possible, JAX has regressed.
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11-20-2021, 07:37 PMAs I See ItDoing his best Lebron impersonation, I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by PaKwAn
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11-20-2021, 07:46 PMPelicanidae
End of the third, looking like we're getting 30'd.
I'm seriously concerned about Ingram. Since coming back off injury he has been roooough. There have been moments and bursts where he's looked good but overall it's not been pretty and this game is just continuing it.
NAW's lost it again after finding it for three or four games.
Temple and Satoransky haven't played a ton tonight so far but they've been bad when they have, no surprises.
Rough. -
11-20-2021, 07:51 PMPelicanidae
Alvarado and co come out, that's 3-15.
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11-20-2021, 07:53 PMTaker597
I still make that Brogdon trade next offseason
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11-20-2021, 08:05 PMDaFranchise80
Glad we got the W last night. Team looks out of it tonight.
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11-20-2021, 08:13 PMAs I See It
If Jose Alvarado could turn into our T.J. McConnell, I would be delighted.
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11-20-2021, 08:20 PMAusPel
Lol
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11-20-2021, 08:23 PMPelicanidae
Ingram since coming back from injury:
Vs Memphis: 19pts, 3rbds, 4asts. 7/17 shooting (41.2%) with 1/4 from 3 (25%). 4TOs
@ Washington: 31pts, 5rbds, 4asts. 9/23 shooting (39.1%), 2/4 from 3 (50%). 1TO
@ Miami: 19pts, 4rbds, 5asts. 6/14 shooting (42.9%), 1/6 from 3 (16.7%). 5TOs
VS LAC: 17pts, 12rbds, 5asts. 6/17 shooting (35.3%), 3/5 from 3 (60.0%). 6TOs
Tonight: 12pts, 3rbds, 4asts. 4/14 shooting (28.6%), 1/2 from 3 (50.0%). 1TO.
That's 19.6pts, 5.4rbds, 4.4asts with 3.4TOs per game on 37.6%FG (32/85). 8/20 from 3 (40.0%) is pretty good, but even that looks better on paper than it's looked in the games, where he's looked a bit reluctant to launch from distance at times, and he's shot basically all of them C&S, very little self-creation from behind the arc.
Hope he bounces back soon. -
11-20-2021, 08:25 PMTaker597It feels like he starts every season kind of rough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
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11-20-2021, 08:30 PMPelicanidaeWell that's the thing, before the injury he was playing pretty well. Defense was a bit weird, as it always is with Ingram, but his offensive numbers were good and he was shooting really well. Got injured, missed a while, came back and now he can't hit broad side of a barn.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taker597
Ingram before the injury: 25.0pts, 7.3rbds, 4.8asts on 47%FG and 46% from 3. Was taking just under 6 3PAs a game as opposed to the 4 per game he's taking now: for comparison, he averaged more than 6 3PAs a game for each of the last two seasons, so being down to 4 per game for an extended stretch is weird.
He's lost about 5.5pts and 2rbds a game in terms of just volume, and he's lost 10% from his FG% while completely losing all of his 3pt self creation. There's starting a season slowly, which is fair, and then there's taking a clear step down after an injury. -
11-21-2021, 07:59 AMPelicanidae
League average TS% this year is 55.0%, lowest it's been in a few years.
Here's the list of all the players we have who are shooting at least league average TS% (min. 200 minutes played):
- Jonas Valanciunas (60.4%)
- Josh Hart (59.9%, a career high for him)
- Jaxson Hayes (56.6%)
That's it, that's all of 'em. Jonas and Hart also have the distinction of being our only two players with a positive BPM.
Among our highest usage players, they're all sub league average. Ingram leads the team in usage (30.7%) but is shooting 52.1%TS, his lowest since his rookie season. NAW is second in usage (24.2%) and is shooting 47.2%TS, down from 52.2% last year. Kira is third on the team in usage (23.9%) and has a 42.3% TS.
That'll do you for a 26th ranked offense alright. -
11-21-2021, 12:25 PMP_B_&_G
Looks like we might be in for the 500 home record and 0 for the road record. At least since Ingram is back. At least we don't appear to completely suck at home anymore. Maybe we can win a few on the road when Zion comes back.
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11-21-2021, 12:34 PMAusPel
Ingram looks like he's constantly wading through molasses. Most unathletic guy in the league?
Kira penetrating and getting to the rim is the only thing giving me hope.
NAW is on pace for being the worst finisher of all time on his natural hand.
Completely obsessed with using his left hand at every opportunity which makes no sense. Jrue, but 10 times worse.
Yeah we should have gotten Maxey, but I think Kira can be good
Spolier alert: I'm right handed but have always preferred dribbling and laying up left lol -
11-21-2021, 01:58 PMPelicanidaeThe annoying thing with NAW is that when he actually getting to the rim, he's fine. He's shooting about 64% at the rim this year, which is his career high and fairly close to league average (67%), and that number includes centres and stuff so for guards he's probably about bang average.Quote:
Originally Posted by AusPel
He just doesn't do it enough. Only 21% of his shot attempts are coming at the rim - a career low for him, though not by much - compared to 49% of his shots coming from 3.
Compare that to Jrue, who shot about 66% at the rim for the last few years he played for us, but who took more like 32% of his shots at the rim, it's clear where the difference in effectiveness is coming from. NAW getting to the rim is a good thing, he just doesn't do it. He's taking nearly 50% of all of his shots from 3 - Jrue's never taken more than 38% of his attempts from 3.
Now, taking that many of your shots from 3 is something you can do, but only really if you're super good at shooting from 3. Curry, for example, has taken 49.6% of his career shots from 3. Ray Allen post-Seattle took 47% of his shots from 3. Buddy Hield has taken 55.5% of his career shots from 3, and that number has been even crazier the last few years - Buddy has taken 67% of his shots from 3 over the last 3 seasons.
NAW is shooting 28.9% from deep. Him taking any more than 30% of his shots from deep is an unforgivable thing. It's just absurd. Unless he's having a career night where he can't miss, he should get yelled at if he finishes a game with twice as many threes as he's taken twos. -
11-21-2021, 02:18 PMEman5805
NAW needs to be averaging like four or five FTs a night. We finally have a decent FT shooting team and we aren’t shooting enough.
That’ll change with Zion, but we need others to join in. -
11-21-2021, 02:56 PMPelicanidaeWhenever I look at this team, there's just so much stuff Zion will clearly help. I hope the team has communicated to him exactly how much of our struggling this season could be immediately solved by adding him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eman5805
We're 26th overall in ORtg. Would adding a guy who can put up 27ppg on 65%TS help that? I imagine it might! Not only for the points and the efficiency, but because it allows us to put another scorer on our bench units - which have thus far been terrrrrrrrible - and allows everyone else to get easier shots due to help.
Particularly, we are dead last in the NBA in 2pt%, and 20th in 2pt Makes. Our entire team is averaging 26 made two point attempts per game: Zion averaged a little over 10 made twos per game himself last year and he shot 63% on them. Maybe adding an all-time historic at-rim threat who combines volume and efficiency at a league best rate would help our offense that currently cannot create or complete two point attempts? Maybe? Replacing some of those awkward Josh Hart transition attempts or those weird Devonte drives with Zion would make a big difference. He wouldn't just add good shots, he'd replace bad shots. He alone could take us from 30th in 2pt% to top 20, in one move. And that'd probably move us from 20th in makes to top 12.
If we'd had Zion all season, we'd be like, 8-9 right now, even accounting for Ingram's missing games. We've won 3 games as it is, and 7 of our losses have been by 8 points or less. If we have a top 18 offense instead of a bottom 5 one, I'm certain we win at least 4 of those 7 close games. Then all of a sudden we're 7-10 through a difficult schedule, about to hit a softer patch: we're a playoff team.
Instead, we're missing him and the entire team is eating dirt because of it.