January 11th - New Orleans Pelicans @ Boston Celtics - 25-16

Gameday in Beantown 🍀

🕡: 6:30pm CT
📺: Bally Sports NO
📻: @995WRNO#Pelicans | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/GefK30BHxv

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 11, 2023

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New Orleans released its official injury report Tuesday afternoon. Herb Jones (right low back contusion) is listed as doubtful after sustaining a hard fall against Washington which resulted in an early exit to the game. Brandon Ingram (left great toe contusion), E.J. Liddell (right knee ACL injury recovery) and Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain) are listed as out.

On the Celtics side, Marcus Smart (left knee contusion) and Robert Williams lll (left knee rehab) are listed as questionable. JD Davison (G League - two way), Danilo Gallinari (left knee ACL repair) and Mfiondu Kabengele (G League - two way) are all listed as out.

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color me optimistic, but if Smart and Williams don't play, this might be considered a trap game for Boston.....

I feel like the key to this game is us not getting destroyed on the perimeter. Good perimeter D and guys making threes is what we need to win this game.

CJ is absolutely cooking on offense. All-Star level. Sure seems like he enjoys being the number 1 guy on the offense....

going to have to repeat myself, CJ is putting on a clinic

TM3 is really good at crashing the boards from the perimeter to get putbacks

Every time we get close, the Celtics just hit a couple of threes to extend the lead, just like our game against the C’s earlier this year.

Naji is starting to look like one of the better players on the Pelicans roster

Good effort by the pels. Boston just has a lot of firepower between tatum and brown.

I really want to see what the game looks like with zion, bi playing and herb defending.

As it stands, the Pelicans have to go find another "star" that doesn't have to sit out a month if they bounce the basketball too hard.

Preferably in the draft.

man only 10 post?...yall only come out when the team is winning lol...

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Originally Posted by luckyman

As it stands, the Pelicans have to go find another "star" that doesn't have to sit out a month if they bounce the basketball too hard.

Preferably in the draft.

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That's the most negative thing I have heard you say on here.

New years resolution?

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Originally Posted by luckyman

As it stands, the Pelicans have to go find another "star" that doesn't have to sit out a month if they bounce the basketball too hard.

Preferably in the draft.

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same thing im thinking...we just need that one forward or guard that can get buckets, stay healthy and dont mind coming off the bench..

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

That's the most negative thing I have heard you say on here.

New years resolution?

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Well I can't answer a question based on a ridiculously false and clumsy statement can I?

Nah.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Naji is starting to look like one of the better players on the Pelicans roster

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This season i actually prefer/trust naji over herb. Herb is still the better defender but naji isn't a slouch on that end either. Herb has been unlucky with the injury bug this year making it tough to get out of that sophomore slump he's in. Naji is just more versatile on both ends

That's just the risk of having 2 injury prone players as your stars. It's great when they are healthy and a bummer when they're out. Glad that the rest of the team steps up despite the circumstances.

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Originally Posted by PaKwAn

This season i actually prefer/trust naji over herb. Herb is still the better defender but naji isn't a slouch on that end either. Herb has been unlucky with the injury bug this year making it tough to get out of that sophomore slump he's in. Naji is just more versatile on both ends

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I have been going back and forth on that as well. Naji plays with a great toughness and energy. He is a good defender, but not as good as Herb. He does better on the offensive end although still cannot be trusted to knock down threes which is what I really want from that role to fit with the starters. Naji blossoming into a guy who demands real minutes is one of the surprises of the season.

I am counting this game as another proof that CJ would be better unleashed with the second unit once everyone is healthy. When he is the primary option he plays like an all star. With Zion and BI he is relegated to a 3rd option and does not look special.

Even though Boston shot 48% from the field and 34% from 3 it sure didn't feel like that while watching. They couldn't miss. The pels hung in there as best they could but they were making everything and when they did miss they would get the offensive rebound and score then. If it wouldn't have been for CJ this probably would've been a 30 point loss.

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Originally Posted by drortego316

Even though Boston shot 48% from the field and 34% from 3 it sure didn't feel like that while watching. They couldn't miss. The pels hung in there as best they could but they were making everything and when they did miss they would get the offensive rebound and score then. If it wouldn't have been for CJ this probably would've been a 30 point loss.

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Agree. The numbers are quite deceptive compared to the eye test in this game.

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Originally Posted by drortego316

Even though Boston shot 48% from the field and 34% from 3 it sure didn't feel like that while watching. They couldn't miss. The pels hung in there as best they could but they were making everything and when they did miss they would get the offensive rebound and score then. If it wouldn't have been for CJ this probably would've been a 30 point loss.

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Most of their misses came from a single possession with like 4 or 5 offensive rebounds :hihi:

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Truth hurts? You are no good without Ingram and Zion. McNamara even said that

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Oh, word? What an insight, which teams are really good without their top two players?

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Well at one point this season the LAKERS were winning missing all three. So there is that.

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The Lakers have a 4-6 record without LeBron, and several of those games included AD and/or Westbrook. So there is that.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

So CJ is not a star on our team. Interesting

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He's not better than BI or Zion. This doesn't seem hard.

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Originally Posted by DarkHornet

He's not better than BI or Zion. This doesn't seem hard.

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Lol, CJ has accomplished more than both those guys put together at this point

CJ is a mega star

A tier down from superstar

This thread is sightly toxic

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Originally Posted by AusPel

Lol, CJ has accomplished more than both those guys put together at this point

CJ is a mega star

A tier down from superstar

This thread is sightly toxic

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The point is he was arguing with someone who said "Show me a team who is really good when missing their top two guys." Could you make the argument CJ should be higher than one of BI and Zion? Sure. I'm not here to put CJ down. But missing players the caliber of BI and Zion would be a huge loss for any team in the league, which was the original point.

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Originally Posted by AusPel

Lol, CJ has accomplished more than both those guys put together at this point

CJ is a mega star

A tier down from superstar

This thread is sightly toxic

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CJ has played significantly more games than both of them put together so that is not an honest comparison. Zion is our best player, BI is our second best player, and CJ is number 3.

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Originally Posted by DarkHornet

The point is he was arguing with someone who said "Show me a team who is really good when missing their top two guys." Could you make the argument CJ should be higher than one of BI and Zion? Sure. I'm not here to put CJ down. But missing players the caliber of BI and Zion would be a huge loss for any team in the league, which was the original point.

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Yeah no shade to CJ, he is a borderline all star and a great player. Zion and BI are all star caliber as well, obviously injuries have been main issue there.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Remember where you were before CJ

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He was super key addition to the team, the veteran leader we needed and tremendous presence offensively on the perimeter. And, Zion and BI are 1 and 2.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

CJ has played significantly more games than both of them put together so that is not an honest comparison. Zion is our best player, BI is our second best player, and CJ is number 3.

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'Best' is a very subjective term

I could argue CJ is the 'best' of the three for a million reasons