February 25th - New Orleans Pelicans vs Chicago Bulls - 34-23

Get up, it?s Gameday! 🙌

🏀: vs Bulls
🕖: 6:00 pm CT
📺: @BallySportsNO
📻: @995WRNO / @rtropical1540 #Pelicans | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/gmlrMrhtNo

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 25, 2024

Pelicans play again, this time against the 26-30 Bulls.

Lets see if we can get back into the win column after some shenanigans last game.

Who’s playing guard is the first question to answer with the suspensions/injuries

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Originally Posted by Tpstr

Who?s playing guard is the first question to answer with the suspensions/injuries

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No kidding... I think Dyson would have been the 3rd option behind CJ and Jose.

Naji for one game (tonight), Jose for three. Hopefully CJ isn't out very long. I guess this is also why the Pels added Jalen Crutcher? Also, can they recall Sebron from Birmingham?

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Butler and Pelicans forward Naji Marshall were each suspended one game for "instigating and engaging in" an on-court altercation, the NBA announced Sunday.

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Heat center Thomas Bryant were suspended three games each for leaving the bench area during the on-court altercation and fighting.

Miami forward Nikola Jovic was also suspended one game for leaving the bench.

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https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...pelicans-fight

Here is some good news at least

hi B.I. pic.twitter.com/Gz4LEGcDOl

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 25, 2024

Need to sign Matt Ryan cheap long term.

Derozan is really good at flopping. Zion would get to the line 15 times a game if he could get those calls

Can't say enough about Herb's development on offense. He used to be a liability on that side of the court but has leveled up in a big way and it makes a tremendous difference.

Damn Matt Ryan went and got his own shot for that 3 pointer. Not just a catch and shoot guy

Suddenly it got real sloppy with BI in the point guard role

I'm putting this L on Larry. Just an awful, awful game. Not a great game by a lot of people, but he was just so bad.

As a side note, another bad shooting game for Trey.

crushing loss.

Larry Nance is unplayable. This may have been one of the worst performances by a single player I have ever seen.

I still don't understand. deRozan takes 8 shots in the paint, get 12 FT attempts. Zion takes 15 shots in the paint, gets 2 FTA.

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Originally Posted by Fedupfan

Larry Nance is unplayable. This may have been one of the worst performances by a single player I have ever seen.

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Yeah but his press interviews are really important and you need to keep players like that around.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Yeah but his press interviews are really important and you need to keep players like that around.

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Man, I have never wanted to see a player miss time this much.

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Originally Posted by Fedupfan

Man, I have never wanted to see a player miss time this much.

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Thats how I feel about BI. Obviously I don't want him hurt, I just hope that he isn't extended as he will completly cripple this team with options down the road.

It's point Zion moving forward beacuse of his contract v's BI's upcoming contract, so I hope things change next season, but they wont.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Thats how I feel about BI. Obviously I don't want him hurt, I just hope that he isn't extended as he will completly cripple this team with options down the road.

It's point Zion moving forward beacuse of his contract v's BI's upcoming contract, so I hope things change next season, but they wont.

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This is a really really really bad take, and I want you to know every time you post this I'm going to login and tell you that

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

This is a really really really bad take, and I want you to know every time you post this I'm going to login and tell you that

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Enlighten me why paying BI 50M next season or over the next 5 years is good for this team.
Please don't say because they can trade him later on, rather than lose him for nothing.

Not a good time to start a losing streak. Schedule gets brutal now.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Enlighten me why paying BI 50M next season or over the next 5 years is good for this team.
Please don't say because they can trade him later on, rather than lose him for nothing.

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Because there is not a better player we can sign instead of BI

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Because there is not a better player we can sign instead of BI

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Exactly. The team will be far worse without him. If you need to free up money, CJ is multiple times more replaceable as a salary dump.

They lern NOTHING from last game. Typical Pelicans stupid loss. #PelsLife

We took the rat poison from Jimmy Butter. Now we are paying the price.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Because there is not a better player we can sign instead of BI

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If that's what you believe good for you.

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Originally Posted by donato

Exactly. The team will be far worse without him. If you need to free up money, CJ is multiple times more replaceable as a salary dump.

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If they had CJ in both those games, they win those games. CJ is more valuable to this team at the moment than BI. He gives leadership, shooting and finds ways to score when the team is on a drought.

chicago put carusso on zion and said do what you do....Chicago was also small ...

maybe play jonas and zeller together....jonas and nance together....at certain parts of the game, use two bigs and have the advantage and force them to adjust...

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

If they had CJ in both those games, they win those games. CJ is more valuable to this team at the moment than BI. He gives leadership, shooting and finds ways to score when the team is on a drought.

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All I can say is I completely disagree. And for every time he shoots us out a drought, I can recall him chucking the game away.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

If that's what you believe good for you.

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Can you name one player in team history that we have signed in free agency that is even close to as good as BI?

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Originally Posted by donato

All I can say is I completely disagree. And for every time he shoots us out a drought, I can recall him chucking the game away.

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But Bi does right?

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Can you name one player in team history that we have signed in free agency that is even close to as good as BI?

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There won't be a player, but that doesn't mean you accept the sunk cost of taking on his contract if it is in fact max cost.
Griff will sign him and hopefully it isn't the max OR they can work out a sign in trade with his desired team to get some players back.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

There won't be a player, but that doesn't mean you accept the sunk cost of taking on his contract if it is in fact max cost.
Griff will sign him and hopefully it isn't the max OR they can work out a sign in trade with his desired team to get some players back.

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And how do you know his desired team isn't the Pels? BI seems to be very happy here.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

There won't be a player, but that doesn't mean you accept the sunk cost of taking on his contract if it is in fact max cost.
Griff will sign him and hopefully it isn't the max OR they can work out a sign in trade with his desired team to get some players back.

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So you want the Pels to lose BI without getting a player who is better or equal to BI... so you want the team to get worse. So now you understand why I said this was a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by RobertM320

And how do you know his desired team isn't the Pels? BI seems to be very happy here.

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It will be whoever is stupid enough to pay him 50M+ per year over the next 4-5 years.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

So you want the Pels to lose BI without getting a player who is better or equal to BI... so you want the team to get worse. So now you understand why I said this was a bad idea.

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Yeah I think the Pels can get 1-2 players for the same value in $$ as what BI will be paid and the team will be just as well off with more cap felxitbilty.
You won't get a player with his high profile that throws up empty stats, but hoping it will be a C and a PG who will make the team better overall that will fit better around Zion, Herb, Trey and Hawkins.

It's sunk cost, plain and simple.

You believe what you believe.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Yeah I think the Pels can get 1-2 players for the same value in $$ as what BI will be paid and the team will be just as well off with more cap felxitbilty.
You won't get a player with his high profile that throws up empty stats, but hoping it will be a C and a PG who will make the team better overall that will fit better around Zion, Herb, Trey and Hawkins.

It's sunk cost, plain and simple.

You believe what you believe.

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The Pelicans have enough depth, this team does not need to add more players at the expense of losing one of its best players. Trading a really good player for two lesser players makes this team worse.

Also, I don't think you understand with "sunk cost" means. It refers to the cost of an investment that has already been made, so when you talk about BI's future contract as a sunk cost, that's just not what that word means.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

The Pelicans have enough depth, this team does not need to add more players at the expense of losing one of its best players. Trading a really good player for two lesser players makes this team worse.

Also, I don't think you understand with "sunk cost" means. It refers to the cost of an investment that has already been made, so when you talk about BI's future contract as a sunk cost, that's just not what that word means.

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Ofcourse that's sunk cost and I didn't need to google it.
The Pels investing more money in a player that they have already invested in because they are are worried that they won't get fair return is not accepting sunk cost.

Yes they have depth right now because they have cheap contracts and rookies contracts, but what happens when the need to pay Dyson, Trey and Murphy?

That 50M invested in BI who hasn't shown he can change his shot profile to get with the modern NBA and fit within the team is a worse move then trading him for players who fit the system.

Just my opinion, you don't have to agree, but happy to discuss this in 6-8 months.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Yeah I think the Pels can get 1-2 players for the same value in $$ as what BI will be paid and the team will be just as well off with more cap felxitbilty.
You won't get a player with his high profile that throws up empty stats, but hoping it will be a C and a PG who will make the team better overall that will fit better around Zion, Herb, Trey and Hawkins.

It's sunk cost, plain and simple.

You believe what you believe.

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How about D. Murray and Capela for BI in the offseason?

I honestly would have been ok with a trade deadline deal swapping BI for Murray & Okongwu. People say Brandon is better than Murray and he is (though their stats this year are almost identical), but Murray is much cheaper and is locked up for another couple of years. He is a point guard who can run an offense and defend and, perhaps most importantly, is used to deferring to a lead offensive star. He fits better than Brandon. Plus you get a good young big to develop on another favorable deal.

I understand why the Pels wanted to push this kind of decision to the offseason, especially when the team was 10 games over .500 at the deadline. But the decision is coming and giving Ingram the bag and having him be the lead dog who takes the most shots and handles the ball at clutch time is not going to take this team anywhere past the first round of the playoffs. Getting him off the team and the payroll and establishing Zion as the lead is the Pels best chance by far to make push for a title. It's no sure thing but Z becoming Giannis is our best hope.

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Originally Posted by Darkhorse985

How about D. Murray and Capela for BI in the offseason?

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If they throw in OO instead of Capela I'd throw in a first.
However I'd probably take that if they re-sign JV for the MLE.

I'd also look to shipping Nance for more guard depth.

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Originally Posted by new city champ

I honestly would have been ok with a trade deadline deal swapping BI for Murray & Okongwu. People say Brandon is better than Murray and he is (though their stats this year are almost identical), but Murray is much cheaper and is locked up for another couple of years. He is a point guard who can run an offense and defend and, perhaps most importantly, is used to deferring to a lead offensive star. He fits better than Brandon. Plus you get a good young big to develop on another favorable deal.

I understand why the Pels wanted to push this kind of decision to the offseason, especially when the team was 10 games over .500 at the deadline. But the decision is coming and giving Ingram the bag and having him be the lead dog who takes the most shots and handles the ball at clutch time is not going to take this team anywhere past the first round of the playoffs. Getting him off the team and the payroll and establishing Zion as the lead is the Pels best chance by far to make push for a title. It's no sure thing but Z becoming Giannis is our best hope.

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Thank you!
I'm glad you get it.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

So you want the Pels to lose BI without getting a player who is better or equal to BI... so you want the team to get worse. So now you understand why I said this was a bad idea.

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But there is also the risk of signing BI to a large contract and getting worse as a result due to the lack of room to maintain other key players. It is a difficult situation.

The basic question to ask yourself about the Pels future is can you challenge for a title when your two main stars don't shoot threes and don't defend at a high level? To me that's a big ask...

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Can you name one player in team history that we have signed in free agency that is even close to as good as BI?

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yeah....Julius Randle

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Originally Posted by clark griswald

yeah....Julius Randle

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Quit being silly

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Originally Posted by new city champ

I honestly would have been ok with a trade deadline deal swapping BI for Murray & Okongwu. People say Brandon is better than Murray and he is (though their stats this year are almost identical), but Murray is much cheaper and is locked up for another couple of years. He is a point guard who can run an offense and defend and, perhaps most importantly, is used to deferring to a lead offensive star. He fits better than Brandon. Plus you get a good young big to develop on another favorable deal.

I understand why the Pels wanted to push this kind of decision to the offseason, especially when the team was 10 games over .500 at the deadline. But the decision is coming and giving Ingram the bag and having him be the lead dog who takes the most shots and handles the ball at clutch time is not going to take this team anywhere past the first round of the playoffs. Getting him off the team and the payroll and establishing Zion as the lead is the Pels best chance by far to make push for a title. It's no sure thing but Z becoming Giannis is our best hope.

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Everyone unanimously agrees Zion's best role in the offense is initiating things from the point... so explain why it's better to get a point guard to "initiate the offense"? How does taking the ball out of Zion's hands make things better? CJ is a good fit as PG next to Zion because he's a vet leader with excellent three-point shooting to space the floor, can get his own shot but doesn't need to be the guy who initiates the offense.

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Originally Posted by new city champ

The basic question to ask yourself about the Pels future is can you challenge for a title when your two main stars don't shoot threes and don't defend at a high level? To me that's a big ask...

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BI is way better on defense then he gets credit for. He is a plus defender. I think most people including those affiliated with the pelicans agree that we'd like to see him take more three-pointers... and it's something that can happen it's not an impossibility, it's not even unlikely. If you recall he just had a game this month with career-high 8 3pt makes.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Everyone unanimously agrees Zion's best role in the offense is initiating things from the point... so explain why it's better to get a point guard to "initiate the offense"? How does taking the ball out of Zion's hands make things better? CJ is a good fit as PG next to Zion because he's a vet leader with excellent three-point shooting to space the floor, can get his own shot but doesn't need to be the guy who initiates the offense.

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Because you still need a guy who will give teams in a 7 game series a different look. Yes CJ, Alvarado and Dyson or even Herb can in small doses, but a more pure guard would help. Problem there aren't many available or still in the NBA.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

BI is way better on defense then he gets credit for. He is a plus defender. I think most people including those affiliated with the pelicans agree that we'd like to see him take more three-pointers... and it's something that can happen it's not an impossibility, it's not even unlikely. If you recall he just had a game this month with career-high 8 3pt makes.

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Go look at the games he scores in high numbers in 3pt attempts. It's teams that are below 500. Teams like that give BI that shot or he just has more confidence against those teams. When the defence tightens he goes back to his old ways.

I don’t think it’s down to any one player. It’s the product as a whole. I don’t think the coach is ready, I don’t think the team is ready and I don’t think the GM is ready. We do not have a winning culture whatsoever, we have a young head coach and the team doesn’t have an identity despite checking most of the boxes talent wise. If we cannot win with this current roster, then I dread to think what will happen when it blows up. Somebody needs to step up. Big time.