We lost last game. It was irritating. We did a lot of things wrong, and our aversion to going inside was at its most glaring; Lonzo took only one shot inside the arc all game, and Zion didn't get a shot for the last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter. We had 21 turnovers. It was ugly, it was frustrating, it was bad, but now it's over and we move on.
Here's the injury report for this game:Two players listed on New Orleans-Milwaukee injury report presented by @MorrisBartLLC ⬇️https://t.co/8GyiUbaDzD pic.twitter.com/bNRHEDmuDg
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 3, 2020
No changes, it's Kenrich and Darius.
Tonight, we return to the Smoothie King Centre to take on the Milwaukee Bucks. Contrary to our hopes, it appears Giannis will play; he played in their game against Phoenix last night, where he dropped 30/19/9 in 30 minutes of play.
There's no doubt that, despite all the media talk surrounding LA this year, the Bucks are the clear best team in the NBA. They currently sit at 42-7, on pace for 70 wins. They have lost one (yes, one) game to a sub .500 team all year; they have gone 36-4 in their last 40 games, and have picked up dominating wins over Portland, Indiana, LA, Memphis, LAC, Utah, and Toronto. We played them once already this year: we lost by 15. Giannis didn't even play in that game.
Of course, Giannis is their real engine. They're at his best when he's on the floor. He's this year's clear MVP leader, and has a strong argument for DPOY as well. He's averaging about 30/13/6 in barely 30 minutes per night, on +4%rTS. He leads the NBA in VORP, BPM, WS/48, PER, and PIPM; the gap between his PIPM (8.26) and 2nd place (Kawhi Leonard, 6.58) is larger than the gap between 2nd place and 6th.
The result of this is that Milwaukee currently possess the league's 2nd best ORtg and the league's number 1 DRtg. Milwaukee's defensive ability comes from their recognition that the rim is the highest priority in any defensive scheme; as a result, they protect it more than anything else. They are top 3 in blocks, #1 in opponent's 2PT%, and their at-rim differential is nearly 3 times stingier than the 2nd best team at nearly 10% below average (Portland is 2nd at about 3.5% below average). They are 2nd in FG%, 11th in 3pt%, 1st in rebounds, 4th in assists, and #1 in scoring.
Behind Giannis, Khris Middleton is currently averaging 20/6/4 on 50/44/90 shooting.
Tonight, all I want to see is more focus and superior execution from last game. I would absolutely, absolutely love a victory, but I'm not dumb enough to get upset if we don't get one. This game would be our clear best victory of the year if we pulled it off, so it's not something I'm expecting. We just need to go out there and show up. Anything else is a bonus. #WBD.