October 25th - New Orleans Pelicans VS Dallas Mavericks - 0-1

[Pelicanidae]

Its going to be hard to beat good teams when one of your main players barely putting up 10 points.

Jrue didnt have the turnover problem but he needs to start playing like a fringe all star on both ends. Jrue drove the lane and missed a chip shot. Doncic did the same an scored. Then came back and scored a bank 3.

And Gentry screwed up rotations once again. He is trying to milk his wholesale bench mob for too long. If they can get a lead for you or bring you back then great. They did their job. But you cant leave them all out there possession after possession when the other team has already trickled in their main players again. Josh Hart is the only bench player that should be getting extended run. He's your 6th man now.

No excuse for Redick and Favors to only have 20 minutes tonight.

Can't really bring myself to go to bat for Redick since he wasn't a huge positive while he was on the court (he wasn't bad, and i'm not arguing with you, just saying I can't really get heated about it), but totally agree on Favors.

Here's his shot chart from this game:

Favors shot chart: 25th Oct v Mavs pic.twitter.com/jQtkv8XhhS

— Pelicanidae (@Pelicanidae1) October 26, 2019

That's just... really good! He was 8 of 9 at the rim, and nobody seemed to be able to stop him getting there. He had 10 points in the first quarter, and it never looked difficult for him. He was playing solid defense too, and rebounding at a good rate.

Unless he was being minutes restricted or something for his injury, there is no real good reason for holding him out. He was really really good in his minutes, and was a huge part of that first quarter going our way.

[GuardianAngel25]

WoW look how stupid Lebron is if anyone is watching the Lakers game. He’s playing iso ball getting to his signature spot mid range with back to the basket and actually taking it!? Even though he is elite and it is very efficient from this spot he shouldn’t take it cause why? Some modern analytic says that some other shot was better? Analytics are just a tool used by people who know basketball not their guide.

[luckyman]

I'm not as worried about tomorrow night tho. That can easily be the first W if Jrue can wake up and the defense tightens up.

Houston runs a small lineup that Gentry knows how to exploit.

The only problem is Gentry will probably go back to a 12 man rotation, and Harden is sure to play 40 minutes and feast on that.

[kinglio21093]

Look, with Zion or not, we knew there was gonna be some growing pains. More than half the roster is new, there is gonna be a lot of times where we throw up some stinkers. These past two games, we've stayed competitive, and I think that's all we can ask from the guys this year. The good games will come.

[GuardianAngel25]

Look, with Zion or not, we knew there was gonna be some growing pains. More than half the roster is new, there is gonna be a lot of times where we throw up some stinkers. These past two games, we've stayed competitive, and I think that's all we can ask from the guys this year. The good games will come.

Exactly!! Everyone here knew this then all the sudden people freak out when the first 2 games don’t go exactly how they wanted. This was expected before we knew our best player would be out. We are one of the youngest teams in the NBA with the biggest roster turn around from last season. Went to OT and lost a close one tonight against 2 very solid teams also trying to win just like us.

[GuardianAngel25]

I'm not as worried about tomorrow night tho. That can easily be the first W if Jrue can wake up and the defense tightens up.

Houston runs a small lineup that Gentry knows how to exploit.

The only problem is Gentry will probably go back to a 12 man rotation, and Harden is sure to play 40 minutes and feast on that.

Well people should realize we are about to play another really good team. This Houston team with Westbrook instead of CP3 is a legit contender. We will have our hands full tomorrow night. Just really sucks not having Zion!

[Eman5805]

We're playing well overall. Just not finishing in the last minutes of the game.

Also, we aren't getting to the rim and foulline enough.

Really feels like once Zion is back, he'll be taking almost all our inside shots.

[luigi modelo]

Ingram again put together a great game. 25 points , 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks while shooting 4-7 3pt and 50% FG. He is also being asked to play out of position at PF spending much of his time guarding bigs even giving Porzingis trouble at times. His defensive versatility is very rare. As I have stated before he is much stronger then he looks and his weight is such a non issue especially when he is actually playing his natural position SF. Core strength and 10-15 lbs max is what he needs to work on. Only 22 years old and will be a perfect compliment for Zion for the next decade. A versatile 2 way wing who is good for 20+ a night and can create his own shot at will while also having point forward ability is exactly what we need as one of the pieces next to Zion. One of the best young compliments in the NBA for him and time will show.

I actually like Lonzo shooting the 3 and had 1 more gone down he would have been 4-10 shooting 40%. Now does that mean he needs to shoot 10 a night absolutely not but he needs to take 3s when they are there and have a few plays set up for him as we saw tonight also. I think his value to this team is attributed to Zion more then anything. So not having Zion really hurts Lonzos game imo. When he returns I really think we see some big changes in how much better he looks do to his ability to make passes others can’t.

Plain and simple Jrue needs to step up. With Jrue just being an average offensively we are 2-0. We need consistency from him while Zion is out and I’m confident if we can get the Jrue we know going on all cylinders to lead this group we can be a very solid team until Zion comes back.

We are missing our best player right before the season. People need to pump the brakes as we lost 2 very close games to good NBA teams. I’m still very excited by what I have seen and what we are capable of. The rotations will get tighter and better as we go just give it some time. Go Pels!!

I agree with all of this

[MG3n2K9]

While Zion is out Jrue needs to have a pick & roll option on the floor with him more often. More minutes with Favors, also maybe give Jaxson a small run of a couple minutes each half while Jrue is on the floor.