February 19th - New Orleans Pelicans VS Phoenix Suns - 12-16

[Impose]

Duncan Robinson is just a taller JJ Redick. I dont understand the fascination. He'll still have issues getting open shots on this team, just like JJ does.

Can't create for himself. Lonzo will be everything you want from Dunc Rob plus more. Lonzo is still like 1 year removed from having his entire shooting mechanic overhauled. He's having an amazing month shooting the three ball. He is absolutely fine, Duncan Robinson doesnt solve out problems. A guard who can get to the rim and finish and also pull up for 3 would be much better.

I think Phoenix will regret CP3 coz yea he might get them closer now to a title but he's just not in their realistic window with Ayton/Bridges/Cam J not ready yet and them also not a serious threat to the best teams in the league.

There will come a day where a star PG or C asks out and we have assets to make those deals happen. Just gotta be patient and get the most out of guys like Kira/Hayes/NAW so they can be contributors to the team that eventually makes a deep deep playoff push.

[Pelicanidae]

Duncan Robinson is just a taller JJ Redick. I dont understand the fascination. He'll still have issues getting open shots on this team, just like JJ does.

Can't create for himself. Lonzo will be everything you want from Dunc Rob plus more. Lonzo is still like 1 year removed from having his entire shooting mechanic overhauled. He's having an amazing month shooting the three ball. He is absolutely fine, Duncan Robinson doesnt solve out problems. A guard who can get to the rim and finish and also pull up for 3 would be much better.

A taller Redick who is a decade younger is one of the best roleplayers in the NBA

Also ''Lonzo will be everything you want from Dunc Rob plus more'', really? So Lonzo isn't just going to be a good shooter now, he's going to be one of the 5 best shooters in the league? Cause that's what Robinson is.

Edit: also, the value of guys like Redick (in normal years) and Robinson is that they don't need open shots. Redick's made a career off hitting off-balance contested fadeaway threes out of bounds. That's a kind of shooting that just creates its own effectiveness, and that's before we even get to the off-ball movement. Robinson has that, plus another 4 inches of height: if you don't think he'd hit shots with Zion on the floor and make things easier for other players, I don't know what to tell you.

[As I See It]

Yea there are flashes of good NBA players there and I'm probably the biggest Kira fan on the board. There have been moments where I see how Kira/Lonzo would actually be fine as a starting NBA backcourt (in a year or two) but then I look at the issues we have closing games and I really wonder if a vet floor general is actually the best thing for the team. The team desperately needs a guard who can get to the rim and finish. Kira can get to the rim, so can Lonzo, but neither is showing they can finish there, yet.

If we had taken Chris Paul off of OKC's hands instead of Adams, we would have a winning record right now. I even wished we had taken a flier on Rondo. We need players who hate to lose and with enough panache to get in their teammates' faces.

[Impose]

I think the important thing for Kira is the decisions he's making, rather than the result, at least right now. Obviously eventually that needs to start materialising into results but I'd much much rather a guy of his age and experience be making the right plays at the right times and being inefficient than shooting the lights out stupidly.

Cause most of the time, making the right play is the right thing to do, and dumb-but-hot shooting is always a false friend in the long run.

Yea I agree and I think Kira's ideas of when to take floaters needs refinement and he kinda has the reigns on him a bit when it seems hes not the primary ball handler when hes on the court. But I really like some of his defensive decisions to make opponents uncomfortable in their sets and he definitely has the floor-wide eyes a point guard needs.

[Impose]

If we had taken Chris Paul off of OKC's hands instead of Adams, we would have a winning record right now. I even wished we had taken a flier on Rondo. We need players who hate to lose and with enough panache to get in their teammates' faces.

Yea maybe we'd be 5th seed right now, maybe 4th, with CP3. Big maybes considering how bad the bench is. But again we'd regret it later and need a miracle expiring CP3 for a star while shipping the war chest of picks deal to find the guy whos gonna be there when BI and Zion lead this team to a championship.

[Pelicanidae]

Yea maybe we'd be 5th seed right now, maybe 4th, with CP3. Big maybes considering how bad the bench is. But again we'd regret it later and need a miracle expiring CP3 for a star while shipping the war chest of picks deal to find the guy whos gonna be there when BI and Zion lead this team to a championship.

Also, gotta consider cost.

Adams cost us Hill and 2 seconds, basically. CP3 would have cost a *lot* more than that.

[Impose]

A taller Redick who is a decade younger is one of the best roleplayers in the NBA

Also ''Lonzo will be everything you want from Dunc Rob plus more'', really? So Lonzo isn't just going to be a good shooter now, he's going to be one of the 5 best shooters in the league? Cause that's what Robinson is.

Edit: also, the value of guys like Redick (in normal years) and Robinson is that they don't need open shots. Redick's made a career off hitting off-balance contested fadeaway threes out of bounds. That's a kind of shooting that just creates its own effectiveness, and that's before we even get to the off-ball movement. Robinson has that, plus another 4 inches of height: if you don't think he'd hit shots with Zion on the floor and make things easier for other players, I don't know what to tell you.

I do get what you're saying but I think our trajectories differ and that kinda messes with value-to-the-team. I genuinely see Lonzo as a 2 guard who is essentially another ball handler to break full court presses and also a guy you trust to make the right pass and even hard passes. While also being good defensively. I really do feel bad for Lonzo coz hes had a lot of good contests on shots and they still splash, he's out lead defensive guard and while he's no Jrue Holiday I still think he's serviceable at that role and gives you so much more. If he can keep his 3pt % above league average and even get it to 40% then in can actually change scouting reports and the way teams defend us. I think teams will get scared to leave Lonzo, I have faith in him, but mainly as that spot up guy you cant leave.

I think I'm pretty dug in on the Lonzo SG/BI SF/Zion PF core. So just be aware of that when considering my comments, thats where I see the team going. Duncan doesn't really fit that direction. I like him as a player., but he'd cost more than hes worth to the team.

[Taker597]

Yea maybe we'd be 5th seed right now, maybe 4th, with CP3. Big maybes considering how bad the bench is. But again we'd regret it later and need a miracle expiring CP3 for a star while shipping the war chest of picks deal to find the guy whos gonna be there when BI and Zion lead this team to a championship.

If we get CP3... Do we ever trade Jrue. I think not. We probably trade for both CP3 and Adams. Give up a bunch of junk guards including Lonzo and some picks.

We could be a top 10 team with

CP3
Jrue
Ingram
Zion
Adams

The conservative nature of Griffin is kind of annoying, but I get it. There is no point of trying to force being a playoff team now.

[Taker597]

The thought of having an High IQ line up has got me flustered with how dumb our veteran guards are...

[Taker597]

Lonzo has been an albatross that I want gone to be honest.

[Impose]

If we get CP3... Do we ever trade Jrue. I think not. We probably trade for both CP3 and Adams. Give up a bunch of junk guards including Lonzo and some picks.

We could be a top 10 team with

CP3
Jrue
Ingram
Zion
Adams

The conservative nature of Griffin is kind of annoying, but I get it. There is no point of trying to force being a playoff team now.

I don't see how this lineup is possible. Couldn't get CP and Adams, we'd be running Hayes at C coz we didn't know anything about WHG then

[Pelicanidae]

Lonzo has been an albatross that I want gone to be honest.

Please join me in the Trade Lonzo Now Boat

[13 - 3]

Please join me in the Trade Lonzo Now Boat

#FreeLonzo
#PelsLife

[Impose]

The thought of having an High IQ line up has got me flustered with how dumb our veteran guards are...

Gotta give it some time. I'm not convinced it's low IQ guys. The offense has changed so much through the year from the awful ******** SVG had us running opening night. And my gripes aside with SVG at least he's shown adaptability and a willingness to try new schemes. Last thing he needs to do is figure out what's needed when the team gives up a big lead. And that part, I think, will come when he's got more bench options

[As I See It]

Also, gotta consider cost.

Adams cost us Hill and 2 seconds, basically. CP3 would have cost a *lot* more than that.

Basically, after OKC moved Oubre (for a protected 1 and a 2) and Rubio (for a swap with Minn), all OKC got was draft picks and a couple of fillers for Paul.

[13 - 3]

At this rate it won’t be long before Zion becomes a Laker

[new city champ]

I’ve pretty much reached the 7th stage: acceptance. You can see we just aren’t ready to compete with good teams consistently. We don’t know how to close out games. We dont know how to win. We can’t really defend anyone for four quarters. Our roster is out of whack.

I honestly thought with the addition of Adams and Bledsoe we’d be a tougher team, body and soul. I thought with the maturation of Ingram and Zion we’d be better defensively. None of that is true so far. My single biggest issue with Griffin is he has spent a lot of resources on bringing in expensive veterans supposedly to set a tone and set a culture. And there is little if any evidence it has made the slightest difference. We play exactly like a young, stupid, low basketball IQ team that can’t stop stepping on its own dick at crunch time.

So let’s be that. Dump some vets. Rebalance the roster to the extent you can. Play the young guys. Plan for the future and just accept the suck.

[Impose]

At this rate it won’t be long before Zion becomes a Laker

Zion will be happy with the way things are going for him right now. I think the issues are obviously not even our starting 5, it's rotations, combinations, and impact off the bench. Our starters hang with most teams comfortably

[13 - 3]

Gosh

Pelicans were minus-29 in the 4th (41-12), it was the worst differential for a single quarter in franchise history.

— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) February 20, 2021

[Pelicanidae]

Chris Paul really cares, always. I don't take it for granted.

— Sam Cooper (@scooperhoops) February 20, 2021

I know other people have already said it, and I know at this point this ship has sailed, but man.

I still remember being on the ''if he must move, move Jrue for CP3'' train before Jrue got traded and this is a huge part of why.

So few guys wired like this. CP3 truly hates losing more than he loves winning. Rare.

[ramsters60]

what I just cant understand is how they could get away from everything that had been working for most of the night....ball and player movement was virtually non-existent in the last quarter and they looked like a totally different team from stem to stern..... that was almost eerie....

[Nichols]

Zion will be happy with the way things are going for him right now. I think the issues are obviously not even our starting 5, it's rotations, combinations, and impact off the bench. Our starters hang with most teams comfortably

Yep.. Not sure how long ago it was but I heard about 3 different game commentators state that the Pels with the starters was ranked top 5 in offense for a stretch of about 2 weeks. Or something like that.

[Pelicanidae]

what I just cant understand is how they could get away from everything that had been working for most of the night....ball and player movement was virtually non-existent in the last quarter and they looked like a totally different team from stem to stern..... that was almost eerie....

Suns defense tightened up, their offense sharpened, and we fundamentally change the way we play late in every single game.

First half, fairly decent balance of shots among the guys, solid passing, lots of ball-handler Zion.

Last 5 minutes of a game, Zion's on the bench for the first 2 of them, we run ISO after ISO after ISO and most of the team acts like if they pass it they'll get tazed.

[Taker597]

Please join me in the Trade Lonzo Now Boat

We been in this boat the moment we got him. I just try to let it run it course quietly and just be positive. I'm just done hearing about his defense. Outside of play making(mainly jumping passing lanes) and in the 1st half off of athleticism not IQ. He's decent at best. I detest players underperforming in the 4th QTR. It's honestly my biggest pet peeve. You're ball handler and your back court defensive anchor just can never be a negative assest in the 4th quarter.

Lonzo in particular in key losses has huge mental lapses in tight situations that leads fouls, back door points, or just getting walked to the basket because he doesn't have the IQ to not see how a 40 point Lillard gonna drive on you on your weak side every time you give up position with horrible foot work.

[Wecandothis]

Was a good game until the 4th quarter. This team desperately needs a point guard. Lonzo and Bledsoe won't cut it. It doesn't even have to be a superstar point guard even a Ricky Rubio would be a huge upgrade. It would help Zion and BI big time.