December 26th - New Orleans Pelicans vs Memphis Grizzlies - 17-13

[Pelicanidae]

Tonight we CITY EDITION!

🏀: vs Grizzlies
🕖: 7:00 pm CT
📺: @BallySportsNO
📻: @995WRNO#Pelicans | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/yZ43xQaHGK

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) December 26, 2023

Two rough losses in the last 4 games, by a combined total of 4 points. It's sucks, but we can recover if the team is able to get back before January hits.

Today we play the Grizzles, who have been on a winning streak since Ja returned. This is partially because Ja is really important to them, and partially because they've been given a lot of lee-way by the refs and the media because of the Ja love-fest.

We lost the last game on a buzzer beater from Ja; a single basket. Frustrating as hell at the time, but it means that the game wasn't far from our grasp. A few small adjustments to our gameplan, our minutes, and our lineups and this is very winnable. Will the Pels actually do it? I have no way to know. We are far from a team that is reliable in this sense. That said, we have bounced back from worse: when Dallas thrashed us, we came back the next game and buried them. I'd like a repeat of that.

Let's see what the team can do.

[Fedupfan]

Tonight we CITY EDITION!

��: vs Grizzlies
��: 7:00 pm CT
��: @BallySportsNO
��: @995WRNO#Pelicans | @SmoothieKing pic.twitter.com/yZ43xQaHGK

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) December 26, 2023

Two rough losses in the last 4 games, by a combined total of 4 points. It's sucks, but we can recover if the team is able to get back before January hits.

Today we play the Grizzles, who have been on a winning streak since Ja returned. This is partially because Ja is really important to them, and partially because they've been given a lot of lee-way by the refs and the media because of the Ja love-fest.

We lost the last game on a buzzer beater from Ja; a single basket. Frustrating as hell at the time, but it means that the game wasn't far from our grasp. A few small adjustments to our gameplan, our minutes, and our lineups and this is very winnable. Will the Pels actually do it? I have no way to know. We are far from a team that is reliable in this sense. That said, we have bounced back from worse: when Dallas thrashed us, we came back the next game and buried them. I'd like a repeat of that.

Let's see what the team can do.

Another episode of how will Willow Green and the beta squad blow a game.

[Creative]

This should have been another win, but…

[Pelicanidae]

Another episode of how will Willow Green and the beta squad blow a game.

If you still need that question answered, you haven't been watching the games. It's always the same way.

Step 1: Start the game slow as hell because our starting lineup has one of the worst net ratings of any large-sample-size lineups in the NBA.
Step 2: Substitutions start coming in, usually Zion and Herb sitting for Jose and Trey; added shooting allows team to make a run to equalise
Step 3: Third quarter, Zion comes back in and plays alongside Trey and various bench players, sometimes JV, to establish a lead
Step 4: BI and CJ come back in, lead balloons to double digits - we get to half-time
Step 5: Repeat step 1 to lose the lead by 6 minutes into the 3rd
Step 6: Willie Green plays a ridiculous all-defense lineup composed of Dyson/Herb/Naji/Jose+ one scorer (this varies a bit), trying to preserve the lead, but this lineup can't score so it just loses the lead anyway
Step 7: Having lost the lead, Green doubles down on all-defense, proceeding to bring Zion back in but zero shooting, deficit stays stable because Zion can score enough to keep it even but not enough to overcome the deficit on his own
Step 8: 4th quarter begins with the score within about 5 points, Green refuses to play best players together so we gain no ground
Step 9: Game comes down to 2 baskets with a minute left, we get a timeout and Green draws up a play that results in something awful, refusing to repeat anything that has been successful earlier in the game
Step 10: Green goes all-defense to try and prevent a basket with >10 seconds on the clock, it fails and they score anyway - loss

Rinse and repeat, Willie Green's 10 Step Program to Losing Games You Should Win.

[JJackisangry]

We let teams linger like a bad fart. Don’t do that and we will be fine

[msusousaphone]

Obligatory 'woot'.

[Pelicanidae]

Good defensive plays from BI and Zion early, getting a block and a steal respectively, but they're hot from 3 to start and that's just beginning the burial. Can't let it get out of hand.

[hornetsrebirth]

damn that 3 is not falling

[hornetsrebirth]

that was fun seeing Morant get flattened by Jonas and collect a foul at the same time

[djrnno]

Now that they gave us that 1 on JM watch us breathe on him and get called

[Pelicanidae]

that was fun seeing Morant get flattened by Jonas and collect a foul at the same time

Jonas da goat

[hornetsrebirth]

I am starting to understand these matchups better. We need Herb to lock up on Bane, and surprisingly BI looks good defensively against Morant. His length and agility maybe are the best look we have for that matchup.

[hornetsrebirth]

Kind of surprised Zion got the call there it looked like a charge to me

[Pelicanidae]

Pelicans struggling again in a first quarter where BI starts slow due to horrible spacing, we refuse to go to an obvious mismatch that JV has, and Zion is the sub for Trey Murphy?

Next you'll be telling me it's a day whose name ends in 'y'.

[Pelicanidae]

Tr3y Mur-3

[hornetsrebirth]

starting to spark a little bit on offense! Nice find by Dyson for Trey's patented super deep 3 and then CJ being intelligent and fast brining the ball up the court all the way into the paint for a floater

[Pelicanidae]

Who would have thought that Zion plus Trey minutes would help?

[Pelicanidae]

starting to spark a little bit on offense! Nice find by Dyson for Trey's patented super deep 3 and then CJ being intelligent and fast brining the ball up the court all the way into the paint for a floater

CJ started cold but he's taking good shots, just need to get them falling

[Pelicanidae]

Gotta praise BI's defensive efforts early tonight. Shot hasn't fallen so far but he's compensated with a bunch of steals and effort sticking to his man, good to see. Really sharp hands tonight

[Pelicanidae]

Where is the lead going?

Oh, Willie Green is playing a zero shooter lineup again.

That's where.

It's really unfair on BI to do this to him. Stop doing it to him, Green. Stop it.

[JJackisangry]

Good finish. Horrible half, but more horrible in the sense that shots aren’t falling. Both teams are bricking tonight. Just gotta start hitting in the 2nd

[Pelicanidae]

Pels end the first half up 48-43

Zion with 13/6 and 2 steals on 61%TS to start things off, team best +13
BI having a rough shooting night to start (4/10, no FTS) but has made up for it with 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block
JV has 8/6 on 4/7 shooting
Trey has 7pts and is responsible for 2 of our 3 made 3PAs.

If BI and CJ (currently has 5pts, 0/3 from 3) can warm up a bit in the 3rd and we can get more Zion+Trey minutes, this could open up. We won the 2nd quarter 29-19, replicate that in the 3rd and we're on good pace.

[Pelicanidae]

Good finish. Horrible half, but more horrible in the sense that shots aren’t falling. Both teams are bricking tonight. Just gotta start hitting in the 2nd

For real. Neither team is shooting better than 42% from the floor and we've gone 5/36 from 3 combined between both teams.

[As I See It]

DEFENSE...DEFENSE...DEFENSE

WINS...WINS...WINS

We only got 13 three pointers up...never mind that we only made three of them...the important thing is to shoot 'em. Keep shooting...we need more attempts!!! LOL

[Pelicanidae]

Zion's got a double double with that last rebound