Thunder vs Pelicans : Game 4 Playoffs! GAMEDAY THREAD!

Mercifully the last game finally?

TONIGHT. Game 4️⃣

🏀: vs Thunder
🕕: 7:30 pm CT
📺: @BallySportsNO, @NBATV#OneNOLA | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/MVHNSfsWhx

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 29, 2024

If they can't win this one, can we at least see some fight? I will be disappointed if someone doesn't get ejected. Seriously yall, the way Dort has been wearing Ingram like a dirty T-shirt with no calls is too much. It's may be too late to win the series but it's never too late to punch someone in the face after they beat you up 3 games in a row.

So, I'll take a small moral victory if the team just plays super physical and makes it close. Forget about the refs. Just let it all hang out.

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Originally Posted by P_B_&_G

If they can't win this one, can we at least see some fight? I will be disappointed if someone doesn't get ejected. Seriously yall, the way Dort has been wearing Ingram like a dirty T-shirt with no calls is too much. It's may be too late to win the series but it's never too late to punch someone in the face after they beat you up 3 games in a row.

So, I'll take a small moral victory if the team just plays super physical and makes it close. Forget about the refs. Just let it all hang out.

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I remember KD getting a lot of flack on a game where he got locked up by Pat Bev.. Dirk caught flack for getting locked up by Kenyon Martin.. Artest locked up AI, and Tracy McGrady.. It happens.

Part of the problem is Ingram and his really bad shot profile. The other problem is his current coach, along with some of his past coaches. If I'm his coach he's not allowed to take as many contested mid-range shots as he takes. He would also be getting the rock on the move, on off ball picks, and curls. It's coach Green's job to help get him free, it's okay to just give Dort credit for being a good one on one defender. Off ball movement will help Ingram get better looks. In regards to his past coaches. They should have never encouraged and allowed so much iso play.

Lastly, the only reason Ingram and Zion hasn't worked is because they don't have a coach that can make it work.

The future not looking good for Vogel in Phx. They could wack him afte one year.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...r-wolves-sweep

Our owner . Let us extend Willie and Grif. but tell anyone.

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Originally Posted by Nichols

I remember KD getting a lot of flack on a game where he got locked up by Pat Bev.. Dirk caught flack for getting locked up by Kenyon Martin.. Artest locked up AI, and Tracy McGrady.. It happens.

Part of the problem is Ingram and his really bad shot profile. The other problem is his current coach, along with some of his past coaches. If I'm his coach he's not allowed to take as many contested mid-range shots as he takes. He would also be getting the rock on the move, on off ball picks, and curls. It's coach Green's job to help get him free, it's okay to just give Dort credit for being a good one on one defender. Off ball movement will help Ingram get better looks. In regards to his past coaches. They should have never encouraged and allowed so much iso play.

Lastly, the only reason Ingram and Zion hasn't worked is because they don't have a coach that can make it work.

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I agree with everything you said. I just hate seeing someone back down from physicality. I don't like blaming refs but they are not calling it evenly. Dort is all over BI and I get that it's Dorts style leading to less calls. Just like Draymond gets away with murder. The part I don't like is that when BI has tried to get physical in return they call fouls. In fact they really got bad with it in game 2. All those offensive fouls completely took us out of the game. Yes, they were fouls but they are swallowing the whistle when the Thunder make obvious fouls, like Dort jumping into BI to end the 3rd on that 3 pointer, it was egregious. Just call the game evenly. Either you let them play and get super physical on both ends or you call a normal game.

Having CJ not disappear in our biggest games wouldn't hurt either. That's probably what's bugging me more than Ingram. He has a guy inside his skin with him. CJ is just disappearing when we need him the most even with wide open shots. It was something I worried about when we got him after Jrue put him in handcuffs in the playoffs a few years back. Wish we could have gotten Dame instead.

put ingram on the block..put him in the paint one on one and let him post up and get easy shots up...dude 6'9 and can easily get his shots posting up even if smaller guards get physical with him......

i hope they dont make me leave a playoff game early again for the second time...

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Originally Posted by 6warddude

put ingram on the block..put him in the paint one on one and let him post up and get easy shots up...dude 6'9 and can easily get his shots posting up even if smaller guards get physical with him......

i hope they dont make me leave a playoff game early again for the second time...

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Problem with that is OKC has been so physical we can't even make easy entry passes.

I would just like to add to this thread with the fact that the Suns were swept with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal on the team. They have zero flexibility going forward.

I bring this up to say things might be bleak but at least we aren't the Suns lol!

The problem with the Pelican players and their coaching staff is that they were just excited to make
the playoff and didn't care anymore. Oh and before anyone says anything I don't want to hear about
Zion being out. The coaching staff should have been prepared for that. It was only a matter of when
and not if.

I am so sick of this organization, I have put up with Hurricanes, OKC , Divas, Injuries, and very little success.
That said, to not be able to watch the last PLAY-OFF game of the season, is just about enough.
I care enough to watch, this team doesn't care enough to let me.

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Originally Posted by dvdman

The problem with the Pelican players and their coaching staff is that they were just excited to make
the playoff and didn't care anymore. Oh and before anyone says anything I don't want to hear about
Zion being out. The coaching staff should have been prepared for that. It was only a matter of when
and not if.

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The thing is, OKC are a really good team. Zion being out IS a fair excuse for losing against a team that may go to the finals this year.

What isn't excusable is HOW we've been losing. Losing? Fine.

Getting swept? Getting blown out multiple times? Including at home? That's not acceptable. That's the sign of a team that isn't just outclassed but is also not prepared and willing to lie down.

Tied up after 1 quarter and the Pelicans shot 2 - 12 from beyond the arc. If we could start making 3s that would be nice.

In fairness to WG, that was a block but at the same time you gotta know they're not going to change it.

Hope SGA is okay. Don't like his style of play but not wishing serious injury on someone.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Tied up after 1 quarter and the Pelicans shot 2 - 12 from beyond the arc. If we could start making 3s that would be nice.

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They could say the same. 3/11 from 3 themselves.

Imagine if we had taken Jalen Williams instead of Dyson Daniels. He was there for the taking. My god.

Hey, Jordan Hawkins minutes!

Miracles do happen.

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Originally Posted by ragincaucasian

Imagine if we had taken Jalen Williams instead of Dyson Daniels. He was there for the taking. My god.

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Eh, Dyson is absolutely fine. Good player, good progress this year on last. No guarantee JWill progresses the same here (where rookies take half a season to play at the minimum) as he did in OKC.

Gonna miss Naji when he leaves. Dude's done the dream of going from an UDFA to a legitimate rotation player in the NBA. He's got flaws, sure, nobody is saying he's even a starter, but I'm glad he's been on our bench.

There is, despite everything, potential in this game. The question seems to be just who starts hitting first.

If they break the cold streak first, they'll blow us out, but if Trey can get hot from 3 or BI can warm up a little, it's all there to play for.

We are now 14 quarters into this series.

The Pelicans have won precisely one quarter. Q4 of G1. That's it.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

We are now 14 quarters into this series.

The Pelicans have won precisely one quarter. Q4 of G1. That's it.

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Ouch

Pels played a decent half energy wise. BI is still ********ting the bed. Here comes the dreaded 3rd quarter...

Brandon Ingram's 1st half production in this series:

Game 1: 8 pts, 3-10 FG, 1 asst
Game 2: 4 pts, 1-2 FG, 2 assts
Game 3: 5 pts, 2-7 FG, 1 asst
Game 4: 4 pts, 1-7 FG, 1 asst

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) April 30, 2024

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Eh, Dyson is absolutely fine. Good player, good progress this year on last. No guarantee JWill progresses the same here (where rookies take half a season to play at the minimum) as he did in OKC.

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NO guarantee DD will progress either, all we saw was mediocre shooting the last 1/4 of the yr. I'll take JW right now , you think OKC would swap us straight up??? HECK NO

We are without a doubt the WORST coached team in the league. WG is the weakest coach I have ever seen. BI does what he wants not what he's told. There is NO FEAR in the gym

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Originally Posted by djrnno

NO guarantee DD will progress either, all we saw was mediocre shooting the last 1/4 of the yr. I'll take JW right now , you think OKC would swap us straight up??? HECK NO

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Not sure what you're arguing with, I never said Dyson is better than JWill or anything even close to that. Just that you can't assume JWill would have progressed identically in a different team context, and that Dyson has been doing fine.

The effort seems to be more urgent so far. Still need ot figure out how to get the ball in the hoop more consistently. Do we get 2 more quarters or 6?

Jonas playing with some force

We need more Naji right now. This series is all about toughness, plus he is actually knocking down shots

Big three pointer and then a really nice bucket in transition from CJ. he hasn't been great this series but even still, we'd be ********ed with out him

Please bench BI so he quits simultaneously blowing the game and obliterating his trade value.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Big three pointer and then a really nice bucket in transition from CJ. he hasn't been great this series but even still, we'd be ********ed with out him

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I said this in the other game, CJ's problem has been completing the plays.

He's been shooting like garbage but by and large, he's still taking good shots. A few exceptions sure, but his problem isn't effort, it's just results. That's bad in its own way, but if you keep doing good process eventually you can't be surprised when some good comes of it.

CJ, Naji, Herb, JV, all critical factors in this game still being in question. They've shown life.

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Originally Posted by pr1840

Please bench BI so he quits simultaneously blowing the game and obliterating his trade value.

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His trade value is what it is. Anyone who would pay big for him two weeks ago probably still will, they'll view this as an outlier result coming off injury.

Problem is, so will Griff probably.

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Originally Posted by pr1840

Please bench BI so he quits simultaneously blowing the game and obliterating his trade value.

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For real, I'll take Naji and even Hawkins over BI right now

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

His trade value is what it is. Anyone who would pay big for him two weeks ago probably still will, they'll view this as an outlier result coming off injury.

Problem is, so will Griff probably.

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If that’s true, then it’s time to move on from Griff also…

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Originally Posted by pr1840

If that’s true, then it’s time to move on from Griff also…

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Except he just got extended in the offseason :hihi:

It's the curse of the Pels. For a bunch of reasons, we've got Griff and like it or not, he's probably going to give BI that contract. Griff loves him some Brandon Ingram. We're screwed, long time. Might have a few decent seasons before the clock runs down, but that's where we are imo. I'd be shocked if Griff didn't max BI as soon as it's possible.

What happened with CJ? Weird.

Sound the alarms: the Pelicans just won their second quarter of the series.

Why can’t our players throw their head back when they get fouled?

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Except he just got extended in the offseason :hihi:

It's the curse of the Pels. For a bunch of reasons, we've got Griff and like it or not, he's probably going to give BI that contract. Griff loves him some Brandon Ingram. We're screwed, long time. Might have a few decent seasons before the clock runs down, but that's where we are imo. I'd be shocked if Griff didn't max BI as soon as it's possible.

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If that happens I have no interest in watching this team moving forward. I’ve seen that show before…

Very winnable game if JV gets time in the 4th. Ingram is at least assisting, which is sorely needed.

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Originally Posted by Freyfamilyreuni

Why can’t our players throw their head back when they get fouled?

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Pelicans are trying to win with ethical buckets, which on paper is respectable but in reality is just foolish.

The game should be called differently to penalise that kind of grifting, but it isn't, and rather than take advantage of the same cheats our opponents do, we try and rise above it all. The consequence is that we don't get calls, they do.

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Originally Posted by Nichols

Very winnable game if JV gets time in the 4th. Ingram is at least assisting, which is sorely needed.

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Big for him too, he had 7 assists total this series coming into tonight.

CJ is so bad at closing out.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Big for him too, he had 7 assists total this series coming into tonight.

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Yeah, if he can't score then that's the least he can do. As a professional. Board, and assist.

Naji is so good.

Someone's gonna pay him $15m a year this off-season and he's going to deserve it. Shame we won't be keeping him.

What a horse******** call.

Paul George, and Kawhi push off all the time before shooting.. and you call CJ for that?

It looks like the NBA wants this series to end.

A pointguard would really help in times like this. The team is disjointed on offense.