Last game we got annihilated by the Dallas Mavericks in the single worst loss this franchise has ever suffered under the Pelicans name. It was a 46 point murder. I missed it live, but watched it back when I woke up and frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't slightly worse than 46, given how it looked at times. Not only was it a franchise worst loss; it was also a franchise tying 8th consecutive loss. That's right, at 8 losses we are now tied for the worst losing streak in franchise history, under the Pelicans name.
But that's behind us. That was against Dallas. They're a good team. Tonight we play the Pistons. They're 9-14. Better than us, sure, but still comfortably sub-.500. After the Thunder losses, that doesn't seem to mean much, but it does mean that we should be slightly less overmatched. Here's the injury report:Pelicans injury report - 12.9 vs. DET:
— Pelicans PR (@PelicansPR) December 8, 2019
QUESTIONABLE
Derrick Favors – Personal Reasons
OUT
Darius Miller – Right Achilles Surgery
Zion Williamson – Right Knee Scope
Interesting to note that Favors is listed there as ''questionable'', rather than out. Does that mean he plays tonight? No idea. But worth keeping in mind.
Whether Favors plays or not tonight is a big what-if. If he does play, and he logs heavy minutes (30 minutes or more) then this won't be an issue, but if Favors doesn't play, then we have to worry about Andre Drummond, the de facto franchise player of the Pistons. He's a rebounding machine, we all know it, and we're a team that's not the strongest on the boards. He's also a big body: listed at somewhere around 290lbs, Drummond has 70lbs on Hayes easily. Okafor, even when he's at his best, is not exactly a voracious rebounder either; essentially what I'm saying is that if Favors doesn't play, we could be getting 30 boards pulled down on us tonight. Drummond is averaging 17 rebounds a night.
What else do we need to consider against Detroit? Well, Reggie Jackson is out and Markieff Morris is day to day, so that eases up the burden somewhat. They do still have threats though.
1) The Pistons shoot 39.6% from three, and are the most accurate team in the NBA from long range. Neither Blake nor Drummond are monster 3pt shooters (though Blake is certainly solid), so that tells you something important: their roleplayers are marksmen. Among players who take at least 1 3PA per game, they have three guys who shoot over 45% from deep, and another three who shoot at least 40%. Our perimeter defense needs to be active and intense tonight, or we could get holes shot in us quickly.
2) They are top ten in assists per game; they move the ball pretty well. They are, however, somewhat turnover prone, especially given their slow pace (16.3 per game) so it's important that the team defense is on high alert tonight (which is troubling because our team D is pretty awful overall)
3) Pistons don't foul. They only give up a FTR of .183 to opposing offenses, which is very low. Combine that with our inability to get real foul calls anyway, we can't rely on the refs here. This has to be a game where guys impose themselves early.
4) Pistons are the 10th best offense in the NBA, so they're a little better than us, and they're the 17th best defense so, again a bit better than us. That's worrying. The upside is that they're the 6th slowest team in the NBA; we do not need to run so fast that our own defense falls apart, but even just 'solid' pace is more than they're used to. If we can ramp them up a little, it might skew their results for the night.
That's about all I've got going on in my head for this one, at least that's write-able :hihi:
Hopefully getting slaughtered like we did last game has at least wounded some pride, and will lead to some fight-back tonight. Somehow I find that a little hard to believe, but even if we fail to respond to the circumstances, at least we'll break a record! It'll be the record for ''longest losing streak'', which sucks, but it's a record nonetheless.
#WBD
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12-09-2019, 07:50 AMPelicanidae9th December - New Orleans Pelicans VS Detroit Pistons - 6-17
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12-09-2019, 09:31 AMPelicanidae
In case you don’t believe me: pic.twitter.com/fbsabFqkkp
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) December 9, 2019 -
12-09-2019, 10:20 AMmsusousaphone
This is the one, guys. I can feel it. And this isn't like the last 8 games I felt.
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12-09-2019, 10:22 AMJJackisangry
I’m beginning to wonder if Favors is being told to sit out (obviously since his mother passing) but also because we keep losing. For one, him sitting out ensures we will be terrible and keep losing. Also, I can’t imagine being around this toxicity would be healthy for him right now. Other players would play through something like this as exercise is often a release for pain and loss. Favors has been absent for a while. Something is obviously up (not accusing him of anything mind).
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12-09-2019, 10:37 AMmsusousaphone
Yeah. It's odd. I hate to speculate on something like that. He did miss a good amount of time before her passing for injury, right?....but maybe it wasn't sudden. And the Pelicans franchise does put an onus on family as it did with Jrue during Lauren's procedure. I feel like with an inside presence from Favors, we would have won a few of these games (eternal optimist here) and would still be near the 8th spot and things wouldn't feel toxic. My personal theory that I'm sure everyone is tired of reading me type is that the team was always treating this season as a paeudopreseason to 2020.....so....it's like "take some time off, man".
I don't know. Lots of variables. -
12-09-2019, 10:42 AMmsusousaphone
And another great scouting report, Dae. One of these local sites should hire you as a foreign correspondent.
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12-09-2019, 10:56 AMJJackisangryIt’s jus a bit strange. I don’t blame Favors or anything, but this doesn’t happen very often. In my mind, it wasn’t wrong to keep him out the way things are going.Quote:
Originally Posted by msusousaphone
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12-09-2019, 02:55 PMragincaucasianYou could have stopped here. We are screwed. Our guys are incompetent when it comes to even half assedly defending the 3 point line. The worst I've ever seen, and that's not hyperbole.Quote:
1) The Pistons shoot 39.6% from three, and are the most accurate team in the NBA from long range. Neither Blake nor Drummond are monster 3pt shooters (though Blake is certainly solid), so that tells you something important: their roleplayers are marksmen. Among players who take at least 1 3PA per game, they have three guys who shoot over 45% from deep, and another three who shoot at least 40%. Our perimeter defense needs to be active and intense tonight, or we could get holes shot in us quickly.
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12-09-2019, 03:17 PMTaker597
I hope we come out cold from the 3pt line. I don't want to pace, space, and brick. Then, let Drummond and Blake score 70 in the paint all night.
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12-09-2019, 03:19 PMSnarly
I’m going to laugh when Gentry puts Holiday on Blake and Kenrich on Drummond.
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12-09-2019, 04:13 PMPelicanidae
Derrick Favors warming up from mid pic.twitter.com/AMPMLwppFU
— Andrew Smith写真家 (@DruProductions) December 9, 2019 -
12-09-2019, 05:06 PMmsusousaphone
Awesome!
To me, the rebounds have been the absolute biggest killer. Maybe it's just been the most frustrating to watch....but all of those second chance points opposing teams get vs all of the 2nd chance points we aren't getting.....I'm sure Favors won't be 100% full go....but adding some inside presence and rebounds will be amazing. -
12-09-2019, 05:23 PMP_B_&_G
I have to think if Favors is in the building he will be playing
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12-09-2019, 05:26 PMFedupfanJokes on you. Uncle Al said he is unlikely to play tonight. Absolutely no reason other than purposely tanking at this point. “This is his first game back”. Shut up Alvin! Also, Jah is starting tonight instead of Jax. The saga continues.....Quote:
Originally Posted by P_B_&_G
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12-09-2019, 05:26 PMSnarly
He’s not playing.
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12-09-2019, 05:41 PMPELICANSFANFirst game back? If he was out for personal reasons, why could he not play his first game back?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupfan
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12-09-2019, 06:03 PMFedupfanCause this is the New Orleans Pelicans! They Bow Down, Sit people out every game, and lose!Quote:
Originally Posted by PELICANSFAN
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12-09-2019, 06:07 PM13 - 3
We won’t lose to Langston Galloway tonight? Right?
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12-09-2019, 06:14 PMmsusousaphoneThat's what's weird.....I remember him having an injury, too. Right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupfan
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12-09-2019, 06:14 PMFedupfanMy prediction. Pels build a double digit lead in the first quarter, lose it by the middle of the second, game stays close, and they lose at the end.Quote:
Originally Posted by 13 - 3
121-116 Detroit -
12-09-2019, 06:21 PMFedupfanBack spasms, which could be serious, but they aren’t saying he is injured. It’s been personal reasons, which is obviously understandable.Quote:
Originally Posted by msusousaphone
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12-09-2019, 06:34 PMFedupfan
I still can’t believe it’s game 24, and so many people have already lost hope. Things can only go up.
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12-09-2019, 06:46 PMTaker597I don't think any NBA team has ever overcome 1-7 starts or worse.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupfan
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12-09-2019, 06:47 PMmsusousaphone
Those people were not around during the after Baron Davis era. Oh man. Before we landed CP3. That was even worse play than this without the treasure trove of assets and Zion. That was freaking bleak. Woof.
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12-09-2019, 06:49 PMJJackisangryYou say that...Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupfan
Personally, everything that happened is a blessing in disguise. We learned what we are missing and what we need to look for in a head coach. If Zion hadn’t been injured, we would almost certainly be stuck with Gentry for the rest of eternity. I’m not sure that having Zion carry us into the playoffs would have been beneficial for us in the long run. As much as I want a winning culture now, we need to make sure we have the right pieces in place.