February 24th - New Orleans Pelicans VS Detroit Pistons - 13-17

[Pelicanidae]

Steven Adams is probable for Detroit game

Story: https://t.co/J8EmstHN07#Pelicans | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/zTC28AG4eQ

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 23, 2021

Adams is probable to make a return.

Coming off a knuckle-biter win over Boston in which Zion played the entire 4th quarter + overtime, Melli put in his first valuable minutes of the season, Lonzo had a fire first quarter, and Ingram hit a huge 3 late, we had a few days of rest before we come tonight to face Detroit.

The Pistons are 9-22 and are pretty clearly the worst team in the NBA that isn't called Minnesota. They're 18th in defense (about 10 spots better than us, actually) and 24th in offense (About 16 spots worse than us) and have looked worse and worse recently as Jerami Grant's initial hot start has slowed down fairly considerably: he was averaging about 24/6/3 on 45/40/86 splits over the first 22 games of the year, and has been 22/4/4 on 40/31/95 since. The percentages, as you can see, have dropped a lot.

They don't make the top 10 in the league in any counting stat. They foul quite a lot, and turn it over slightly more than most.

This should be a win. We're at home, well rested, coming off the all-star morale booster, coming off a win, against an awful team that's missing multiple guys to injuries and is seeing a downswing from their lead guy. Will the Pels put in a reasonable performance or collapse? Let's find out.

[Freyfamilyreuni]

Lonzo had a fire first quarter, .

More importantly he didn't have a stupid 4th quarter. Notably gave up a three point look for Zion with good position under the basket. A glimmer of some basketball IQ in crunch time.

[AusPel]

Let's see if my little theory of Adams back clogging the paint = a dramatic drop off of BI getting to the rim on his drives has any traction

[As I See It]

Let's see if my little theory of Adams back clogging the paint = a dramatic drop off of BI getting to the rim on his drives has any traction

Indeed

[AusPel]

Well it's probably more accurately Adams + Zion = no BI getting to the rim

If Melli was @ the 4 and Adams @ the 5 I'd expect it to be a little easier

Griffin's obsession with one dimensional centres will kill this team, if he hasn't already

Although, I think Willie isn't the worst type of 5 you can pair with Zion. But Adams and Jax certainly are

[pelafanatic]

Let's see if my little theory of Adams back clogging the paint = a dramatic drop off of BI getting to the rim on his drives has any traction

Westbrook got to the rim more than any player in the league with Adams for years. It's not as much of a spacing issue as it is a chemistry issue. It'll develop

[AusPel]

Westbrook got to the rim more than any player in the league with Adams for years. It's not as much of a spacing issue as it is a chemistry issue. It'll develop

Who was at the 4? Plus you can't seriously be comparing peak BestBrook and BI's athleticism?

[As I See It]

Well it's probably more accurately Adams + Zion = no BI getting to the rim

If Melli was @ the 4 and Adams @ the 5 I'd expect it to be a little easier

Griffin's obsession with one dimensional centres will kill this team, if he hasn't already

Although, I think Willie isn't the worst type of 5 you can pair with Zion. But Adams and Jax certainly are

You know, except for the fact that his understanding of the game is at church league level, I do think that JAX could develop a mid-range game. Someone else said it the other day and I believe they may be on to something. Maybe JAX should see some time at the 4. That way, instead of being the last level of rim defense, he can use his athletic ability to offer help (and get cheap blocks) from the off-side.

[AusPel]

You know, except for the fact that his understanding of the game is at church league level, I do think that JAX could develop a mid-range game. Someone else said it the other day and I believe they may be on to something. Maybe JAX should see some time at the 4. That way, instead of being the last level of rim defense, he can use his athletic ability to offer help (and get cheap blocks) from the off-side.

He does have a good looking jumpshot. Just play him as a spot up three point shooter for the lols

[As I See It]

Who was at the 4? Plus you can't seriously be comparing BestBrook and BI's athleticism?

Galinari and KD.

[AusPel]

Galinari and KD.

Opposite of Zion 4s

[As I See It]

He does have a good looking jumpshot. Just play him as a spot up three point shooter for the lols

That's pretty bold...but, I suppose selecting JAX, was pretty bold too.

[As I See It]

Opposite of Zion 4s

LOL

[luckyman]

Another case of this team having rest while Detroit played last night. So far this year this hasn't mattered at all.

[pelafanatic]

Who was at the 4? Plus you can't seriously be comparing peak BestBrook and BI's athleticism?

Well I clearly did no such thing lol. Didn't say a word about athleticism. Just saying it can be done, although not as effectively. I'll concede that fit isn't great when BI, Zion, and Adams are on the floor together, though I think a lot of that could be fixed if you just replace Bled with a flamethrower.

The lineup of Bled, Zo, Hart, BI, Adams is in the 93% percentile, so I'm not sure there's a ton of weight to the BI/Adams argument. In general, though, lineups with BI, Zion, and Adams are above average and elite offensively (87th percentile).

I think the main issue with the lineup is that, if your defense is going to have the current versions of Zion and BI, I think you need to be super switchy. You obviously can't do that with Adams. I'd love to see that lineup with a guy like Thad Young instead of Adams. I think Zo-Hart-BI-Zion-Thad could be unguardable offensively, and at the very least cause major havoc defensively at the end of games.

[pelafanatic]

Another case of this team having rest while Detroit played last night. So far this year this hasn't mattered at all.

It should matter tonight because we're the home team. The only real trend this year is that we are a horrible road team. We're 8-7 at home and 5-10 on the road. Should have probably been expected considering our youth and how terrible the travel situation is. Guys who haven't gotten to develop a road routine in the league are now expected to do so locked in a 400 ft hotel room for days at a time.

[luckyman]

It should matter tonight because we're the home team. The only real trend this year is that we are a horrible road team. We're 8-7 at home and 5-10 on the road. Should have probably been expected considering our youth and how terrible the travel situation is. Guys who haven't gotten to develop a road routine in the league are now expected to do so locked in a 400 ft hotel room for days at a time.

Guess who plays tomorrow. On the road. Against a top team looking for revenge.

I'm going to delete this website from my computer if they dont get this one tonight.

Not enough anti-hot take virus protection.

[pelafanatic]

Guess who plays tomorrow. On the road. Against a top team looking for revenge.

I'm going to delete this website from my computer if they dont get this one tonight.

Not enough anti-hot take virus protection.

If we?re competitive until the final moments of the game tomorrow night, that?ll show growth coming off of the Celtics game. Hopefully we?re all mature enough to know that wins on the road against the Bucks on the 2nd night of a back to back should not be expected.

[AusPel]

That's pretty bold...but, I suppose selecting JAX, was pretty bold too.

It wasn't particularly bold since Jax was mocked around there, but it exposed a massive breakdown in front office processes

[6warddude]

Someone else said it the other day and I believe they may be on to something. Maybe JAX should see some time at the 4. That way, instead of being the last level of rim defense, he can use his athletic ability to offer help (and get cheap blocks) from the off-side.

i said it in the game day thread and been believing that jax may be better at PF next to adams or willy in certain game situations....at PF jax can just free style and roam any area because he has the athleticism to help rim protect on player drives to get blocks by not being tied down with a center ....with adams being the anchor and jax roaming waiting for players to drive to the paint, i think will help the defense out better because our guards wouldnt have to leave 3pt shooters open to help defend the paint.....

AD used to do it alot early in his career at the 4 and had players kicking it out because he was free to block shots.....now all of this is depending on jax above the shoulders....

[AusPel]

Well I clearly did no such thing lol. Didn't say a word about athleticism. Just saying it can be done, although not as effectively. I'll concede that fit isn't great when BI, Zion, and Adams are on the floor together, though I think a lot of that could be fixed if you just replace Bled with a flamethrower.

The lineup of Bled, Zo, Hart, BI, Adams is in the 93% percentile, so I'm not sure there's a ton of weight to the BI/Adams argument. In general, though, lineups with BI, Zion, and Adams are above average and elite offensively (87th percentile).

I think the main issue with the lineup is that, if your defense is going to have the current versions of Zion and BI, I think you need to be super switchy. You obviously can't do that with Adams. I'd love to see that lineup with a guy like Thad Young instead of Adams. I think Zo-Hart-BI-Zion-Thad could be unguardable offensively, and at the very least cause major havoc defensively at the end of games.

Therein lies the issue

40 games in and we're already discussing who to replace Adams with.

That would be a fun discussion if we hadn't already have spent 3 picks and 60 mil on him

Just the most irresponsible use of assets by the GM

[pelafanatic]

Therein lies the issue

40 games in and we're already discussing who to replace Adams with.

That would be a fun discussion if we hadn't already have spent 3 picks and 60 mil on him

Just the most irresponsible use of assets by the GM

Not at all talking about replacing him entirely. As I stated above, the Adams lineups have been well above average even with the questionable fit. Finishing lineups are much different. I was talking about a 3 man big rotation of Zion, Adams, and Thad.

Adams advanced metrics are absolutely off the charts. He's also a tremendous locker room guy, as is well documented, and a solid bridge while you figure out what you have in these young guys.

If you talk to anyone in the organization, they will tell you that the goal is to start competing for a championship following the 2022 offseason. It is no coincidence that this coincides with the last year of Adams deal, and creates a 17 mil trade piece. I'm still perfectly content with the Adams move. I can't imagine what this board would be saying right now had we spent 9 mil on Aron Baynes for his 41/21/68 splits.

[AusPel]

Not at all talking about replacing him entirely. As I stated above, the Adams lineups have been well above average even with the questionable fit. Finishing lineups are much different. I was talking about a 3 man big rotation of Zion, Adams, and Thad.

Adams advanced metrics are absolutely off the charts. He's also a tremendous locker room guy, as is well documented, and a solid bridge while you figure out what you have in these young guys.

If you talk to anyone in the organization, they will tell you that the goal is to start competing for a championship following the 2022 offseason. It is no coincidence that this coincides with the last year of Adams deal, and creates a 17 mil trade piece. I'm still perfectly content with the Adams move. I can't imagine what this board would be saying right now had we spent 9 mil on Aron Baynes for his 41/21/68 splits.

It's not even about what the 5 gives you with his personal offensive stats in a vacuum. I honestly couldn't care less what Adams is doing shooting wise, unless he miraculously developed some sort of non-layup game. We seemed to have coped fairly well with Billy Goat at the 5.

You say the organisation wants to compete a few years in the future. I agree. So why have this weird pseudo competitive season now? Get another low pick in this super loaded draft and go from there. I think everyone would have been on board with surrounding Zion with as much high end talent as possible.

And this draft is loaded as ********

[Pelicanidae]

You say the organisation wants to compete a few years in the future. I agree. So why have this weird pseudo competitive season now? Get another low pick in this super loaded draft and go from there. I think everyone would have been on board with that

This has been my one real complaint about the team in terms of process. If you're going to compete, then compete, and if you're not then don't. Don't do this weird in-between stuff that neither gets you a playoff run nor a better draft pick. Make your choice.

[AusPel]

This has been my one real complaint about the team in terms of process. If you're going to compete, then compete, and if you're not then don't. Don't do this weird in-between stuff that neither gets you a playoff run nor a better draft pick. Make your choice.

Too late