What Winning Does...It Changes the Narrative

First, this post is not an argument. It is a conversation. A civil, no-name calling or baiting post. One need not to take things so personal or make provocative statements when making a point, but it seems to be happening a lot recently.

At this point, the #1 pick is not possible (without some sort of divine intervention). 'Tanking' this late into the season seems pretty moot. I say chase down the Lakers and pass them up. Losing never solves anything. These young players, following Jrue's lead are helping change the narrative - around town and the league. It would make AD and his cabal look like fools if we were to pass his beloved Lakers. It also creates a sense of hope. I was genuinely excited last night. They hustle. They play hard. They hit the glass. They have passion - especially the Malian Nightmare. That's good enough for me and paying customers considering the dumpster fire it was three weeks ago. Now maybe the national media will focus on the towering infernos Phoenix, NYK, ATL, Chicago and Memphis have become.

The playoffs might be a bridge too far, but finishing 9th or 10th coupled with the preview of our youth might entice Randall to resign and make whoever we get for AD and SH excited to be here.

If Silvers is concerned about giving fans what they want - in particular Pelican fans, say AD has walking pneumonia and sit him the rest of the season. I am not interested in seeing him anymore as a Pelican. But what do I know?

Finally, a brief PSA. I hope this doesn't get me banned, but feel it would get lost on the other topics thread. It's World Wildlife Day. What does that mean? Probably nothing more than just to draw attention to plight pf many of our fellow occupants on this planet. Elephants. Rhinos. Giraffes - yes, giraffes. A thing called a Pangolin. Are all being wiped out at an alarming rate. Even here in the States, poaching is a major problem. 134 wildlife rangers lost their lives to poachers last year alone. Do yourself a favor and Google search a little bit on the subject today and see. My organization is one of many hundreds trying to make a difference. You can follow us on Twitter @WildlifeAirGrp and FB.

Good last paragraph.

But you say the #1 pick is "not possible". You do know it's a lottery, now? I mean. It's not likely so it certainly isn't anything to bank on. But it isn't even a likely scenario for the team that finishes last. I loathe hyperboles so you people trigger me nonstop. Lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by msusousaphone

Good last paragraph.

But you say the #1 pick is "not possible". You do know it's a lottery, now? I mean. It's not likely so it certainly isn't anything to bank on. But it isn't even a likely scenario for the team that finishes last. I loathe hyperboles so you people trigger me nonstop. Lol

---

I do, that's why I included the divine intervention part. The other teams would go ballistic if it were to happen, but so be it.

Shout out to wildlife conservation

Great post OP. I’m looking forward to life after AD.

If the issue around not playing Davis was really to avoid the appearance of tanking and maintain the integrity of the sport, it should be clear by now to even the most casual observers of the Pels that they play harder and better without him. Of course that’s not really what the league is worried about.

I’m all for letting this team play to win. Watching these guys without Davis has been by far the most enjoyable stretch of the season, other than the first week. It seems apparent now that the situation with AD was a cloud over this team most of the year and that it had a negative impact on the club’s morale and energy level. With Davis’s trade demand going public he’s been sidelined as the focus of the team and the guys have moved on to build a new identity without him. It’s fun to watch.

I'm happy to let the team play to win, as long as the minutes are capped for certain players.

Jrue is locked up long term on a large contract. He doesn't have to worry about earning minutes or earning a new contract. He's not old, but 29 isn't super young and he's played heavy minutes all season. He should play 30 minutes and then sit, capped.

Randle has done enough for some people on this board to think he's worth $20m a year. Personally, I disagree, but that doesn't even matter. He's going to get paid $13m+ this summer. He doesn't have to prove anything. He shouldn't be playing more than 30 minutes.

We should be doing everything we can to get Frank, Cheick, Okafor, and Kenrich minutes. If they can win us games, I'll take it. If they can't, hey it's good for the tank. But they should all be getting 25+ a night.

At this point Gayle should call Adam Silver's office and say, "We've proven our point. We're more competitive without AD than with him. We'll be sitting him the rest of the season and I DO NOT expect to hear from you again regarding this issue."

— F5_AngryWave (@RFMoldaner) March 3, 2019

im glad the players are playing hard and trying to win....last night win felt so good and now we have to wait after the 1st period in the next game to see if the team up for playing a good game with AD playing smh...

I agree with the OP, IMO right now they seem to be changing the culture around this team, and I think they are building a winning culture in NO with Jrue as their captain instead of AD. Let them build that culture, and hopefully it filters into this whole franchise for years to come.

IMO building a winning culture is by far more important than where our draft pick lands.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Erose

I agree with the OP, IMO right now they seem to be changing the culture around this team, and I think they are building a winning culture in NO with Jrue as their captain instead of AD. Let them build that culture, and hopefully it filters into this whole franchise for years to come.

IMO building a winning culture is by far more important than where our draft pick lands.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

---

Agree completely with the winning culture aspect. I never understood the wanting to lose purposely mindset. Losing is a mindset just like winning is. I know which I prefer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cajunsmike

Agree completely with the winning culture aspect. I never understood the wanting to lose purposely mindset. Losing is a mindset just like winning is. I know which I prefer.

---

Funnily enough it mirrors Lebron's comments around the lakers young guys learning in a losing team, and needing to learn how to win (and Zubac's comments today about the clips and learning how to play hard for every possession to win games). His quote for visibility:

Zubac after the Clips took care of business vs. the Knicks: "That's how we gotta be. When I was with the Lakers, we didn't have nights like this. Every game was a close game for us, but now with the Clippers, this team is really locked in, every possession against every team."

— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) March 3, 2019

I appreciate the effort and hustle the team seem to all be putting forward, and it sure makes for great basketball. The team minus AD seem to be playing for each other (largely), hustling for everything, and working more cohesively as a group. The AD situation has most likely spurred some action within for many, while also giving more minutes to show it in for the younger and edge players. Combine that with a few of the young guys showing some development over the season and it makes for a team everyone can get behind. Learning to do all the small things all the time is hard and takes a lot of effort. Jrue certainly is a great example for the team to follow. Winning as a reward though, that really helps reinforce those behaviors because when you hit the tough patches you need to just keep doing them. I've always struggled with the inconsistency in this team (as a supporter), and often thought I'd rather see the team play hard and lose than sleep through to a win. It also seems like the fans have stepped up to show their support with all the AD drama, that has to be a massive boost for the guys.

On a side note wildlife, just added you on twitter mate. A real worthy cause that is for sure!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WildlifeAirGrp

First, this post is not an argument. It is a conversation. A civil, no-name calling or baiting post. One need not to take things so personal or make provocative statements when making a point, but it seems to be happening a lot recently.

At this point, the #1 pick is not possible (without some sort of divine intervention). 'Tanking' this late into the season seems pretty moot. I say chase down the Lakers and pass them up. Losing never solves anything. These young players, following Jrue's lead are helping change the narrative - around town and the league. It would make AD and his cabal look like fools if we were to pass his beloved Lakers. It also creates a sense of hope. I was genuinely excited last night. They hustle. They play hard. They hit the glass. They have passion - especially the Malian Nightmare. That's good enough for me and paying customers considering the dumpster fire it was three weeks ago. Now maybe the national media will focus on the towering infernos Phoenix, NYK, ATL, Chicago and Memphis have become.

The playoffs might be a bridge too far, but finishing 9th or 10th coupled with the preview of our youth might entice Randall to resign and make whoever we get for AD and SH excited to be here.


If Silvers is concerned about giving fans what they want - in particular Pelican fans, say AD has walking pneumonia and sit him the rest of the season. I am not interested in seeing him anymore as a Pelican. But what do I know?

Finally, a brief PSA. I hope this doesn't get me banned, but feel it would get lost on the other topics thread. It's World Wildlife Day.

What does that mean? Probably nothing more than just to draw attention to plight pf many of our fellow occupants on this planet. Elephants. Rhinos. Giraffes - yes, giraffes. A thing called a Pangolin. Are all being wiped out at an alarming rate. Even here in the
States, poaching is a major problem. 134 wildlife rangers lost their lives to poachers last year alone. Do yourself a favor and Google
search a little bit on the subject today and see. My organization is one of many hundreds trying to make a difference. You can follow us on Twitter @WildlifeAirGrp and FB.

---

When Davis said he wanted a trade, I was going for the tank. But I guess that only should happen if they are completely out of the playoff race. But the more I look at the mock drafts, the more I like the players. It will be exciting to watch a top 10 player get better and hopefully become a star in the league.