April 29th - New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder - 27-35

[Pelicanidae]

Back to business tonight in OKC #PelicansGameday

🏀 at Thunder
🕗 8 p.m. CT
📺 @BallySportsNO
📻 100.3 FM @ESPNRadioNOLA @SmoothieKing | #WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/Uu6kuDDOPh

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 29, 2021

The road trip continues and this time we are in Oklahoma to face off against the 21-41 OKC Thunder.

With the league's worst offense and the 21st rated defense, OKC are very bad at basketball. They have won one game this month, posting an April record thus far of 1-14 which is some very impressive tanking. Not the best tanking in the NBA, that goes to Houston still, but very strong competition.

We're missing Adams on the injury report, and OKC is still missing SGA amongst other miscellaneous figures.

Looking forward to seeing what this trainwreck is going to look like. Either we steamroll them and momentarily look good (against a terrible team) or we struggle mightily and lose a close one in what will inevitably be a very stupid ending.

Let's see which we get.

[Eman5805]

....er yeah. I'll be occupied watching something else.

[13 - 3]

Enjoy the development and rebuild. You only got ten more years of it. By the way Season tickets dues are due in full by the end of the month. You got stimulus money damn it so pay Gayle and enjoy the development. Order by the end of the game and we will add a Eric Bledsoe signed picture, and free small smoothie coupon at Smoothie King.

[ragincaucasian]

Honest question: Who is actually watching these games anymore? I feel like I am at peak apathy with this team now, and will either skip watching outright or have it on in the background while I'm doing something else. I didn't even feel like this last year.

[Freyfamilyreuni]

Honest question: Who is actually watching these games anymore? I feel like I am at peak apathy with this team now, and will either skip watching outright or have it on in the background while I'm doing something else. I didn't even feel like this last year.

I've started recording them, and only watching them if we win. It frees up a lot of time.

[Stalwart385]

Honest question: Who is actually watching these games anymore? I feel like I am at peak apathy with this team now, and will either skip watching outright or have it on in the background while I'm doing something else. I didn't even feel like this last year.

I still catch them. If not I'll catch a recording. Sometimes I miss the first half or something and just let it be. I'll then catch the highlights and listen to post-game interviews.

Sometimes when the pressure comes off and guys can loosen up you see some good development. I still find it fun to watch them play. It's not like they get blown out, it's pretty rare actually. They are in almost every game. They just need to figure out how to finish games and they'll have a solid foundation.

[Pelicanidae]

Honest question: Who is actually watching these games anymore? I feel like I am at peak apathy with this team now, and will either skip watching outright or have it on in the background while I'm doing something else. I didn't even feel like this last year.

I watch them because I enjoy some of the players. I like watching Zion, I enjoy when Jax gets run, I like seeing if Kira gets real minutes and if so, what he's doing in them.

If I had to believe that we would be good to watch and appreciate the game, I'd be watching a different team.

[luckyman]

I watch or record and watch later. How could you not enjoy watching the young guys grow? Zion, BI, Kira, Jax, and Naji turning into a Draymond-lite.

It's especially satisfying if you liked these guys very early, watched hours of their college tape, and now see them flash on the NBA level.

Then Willy is always interesting.

If you've begged for them to build through the draft and through youth, then this is what you asked for. Why get mad now?

[Pelicanidae]

Well this is uninspiring.

[sterlr]

They need to post Zion against this group operate thru him.. Point Z is good with the 1st team but not the second.

[Pelicanidae]

Jax has been really solid for a while now. His growth this season has been so encouraging to see. Still makes mistakes here and there of course, I'm not saying he's become All NBA or All D or anything ridiculous like that, but he's gone from a catastrophe at times to being just generally pretty reliably good.

[Pelicanidae]

Halftime stats:

Zion: 16/2/4 with a steal on 53.8% shooting. 0TO/0PF
Ingram: 15/1/1 on 66.6% shooting. 1TO/1PF
Billy: 8/6/2 with a steal on 60% shooting. 0TO/OPF
Lonzo: 4/3/2 with 2 steals on 33.3% shooting, 0/3 from 3. 0TO/2PF
Bledsoe: 3/3/3 on 33.3% shooting. 0TO/0PF

Shouts to Jax for 4pts 5rbds and a block in 9 minutes, 4pts from Kira on 50% shooting, and a block from Wenyen.

[Pelicanidae]

We are 2/12 from 3

[Pelicanidae]

Just found out that Kevin Porter Jr has 49 points and 11 assists and I am very amused

[Pelicanidae]

Bledsoe is so garbage for us

[Pelicanidae]

Jax with the Mr Fantastic arms, jesus

[Pelicanidae]

Jax with the Mr Fantastic arms, jesus

that's tough @hayes_jaxson �� pic.twitter.com/gijvLiwpRU

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 30, 2021

I mean this

[As I See It]

Who is the better center for this team;...Adams or Willy?

PER 36 - CAREER

Adams: 12.8 / 10.3 / 1.7; (.591 / .077 / .548)
Willy: 16.9 / 13.6 / 2.5; (.535 / .309 / .682)

I definitely know who the better value is.

[Pelicanidae]

If Zion got every FT he should get, by the rules of the book, he should shoot about 16 a game. Refs at this point are just not calling them on purpose, is the only way I can rationalise it. I refuse to believe that they are that incapable of seeing the floor.

[ragincaucasian]

Who is the better center for this team;...Adams or Willy?

PER 36 - CAREER

Adams: 12.8 / 10.3 / 1.7; (.591 / .077 / .548)
Willy: 16.9 / 13.6 / 2.5; (.535 / .309 / .682)

I definitely know who the better value is.

I mean 27 million a year for 12 points and 10 rebounds a game. What value!

And you forgot to include other metrics such as "falling down per game" and "tipped rebounds to the other team", and "DNP Injured".

[Pelicanidae]

Our starting lineup is 0/14 from 3

Zion's 1 attempt was a heave, but otherwise that's still 0/13. Jesus Christ.

[Pelicanidae]

Zion sits. That's probably it for him; finishes with 25/8/5 on 50% shooting.

[Pelicanidae]

0/7 from 3 from Lonzo
0/4 from 3 for Ingram
0/3 from 3 for Bledsoe
0/2 from 3 for Kira

come on man

[As I See It]

Zion sits. That's probably it for him; finishes with 25/8/5 on 50% shooting.

....and just two defensive rebounds. Everyone has priorities....even Him.

[Pelicanidae]

...and Zion is back in? Why?