Pelicans Shocked by Sixers in Embarrassing 96-81 Defeat

Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday watched from the sidelines tonight as their teammates got embarrassed by one of the worst teams in the league in the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Pelicans game had a lot of similarities to their equally disappointing loss to Boston this past Monday night. They were sloppy with the ball, missed open shots and did not move the ball well. The 76ers are a bad team, but New Orleans played like they were going up against these guys tonight.

Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Young Philadelphia 76ers fans waves their arms for a t-shirt toss before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

A ton of shots at the rim were missed by the Pelicans, whether they got blocked by Nerlens Noel (who finished with 5 blocks) or just did not go down. All game the Pels tried to attack the paint, but time and time again their attempts were thwarted by the interior of the 76ers defense. Without Davis roaming the floor their decision making was both slow and inefficient.

Tyreke Evans started the game making his first 3 attempts and only had 1 turnover in the first quarter. By the end of the night, he had not converted another shot and finished with 8 points and 7 turnovers. Tyreke’s skill in driving to the basket usually translates to success, regardless of how stingy the opposing defense is. Tonight, the 76ers provided a wall in the paint that would not crack. Evans cannot let his defeat in getting to the lane hinder his playmaking.

Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A jump ball is called as Philadelphia 76ers guard

(9) looks back at the official with grasping the ball with New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

After missing a few shots against the Pistons, he dedicated himself to finding easy shots for his teammates, and the final score showed that his work paid off. Tonight, he was trying to do too much and was very inefficient as a result.

His turnovers made a New Orleans comeback impossible, and basically created the entire deficit. Without Evans on the floor, the Pels coughed the ball up a respectable 11 times. 18 is way too high for any team that expects to win.

The starting lineup of Evans-Gordon-Cunningham-Anderson-Asik was abysmal tonight. The +/- ratings were -26, -19, -14, -28, -20 respectively. That is about as bad as you can get. The ball was not moving and a general sense of indecisiveness doomed the Pelicans from the start.

Holiday’s injury does not seem to be serious, so expect to see him take the reigns of the offense back from Tyreke soon.

Ryan Anderson did not shoot the ball well at all tonight. His lone 3 pointer came in the first quarter, but his success ended there. With two of the top offensive weapons out of the game, it would have been nice to see Ryan have a decent showing from the starting lineup. Hopefully he can get back to improving his road numbers when he returns to his role off of the bench.

Omer Asik is a great rebounder, and his ability to bang down low and clean up the glass is exactly why he is here. On the offensive end, he continues to be an immense liability. He missed a wide open dunk tonight, fumbled numerous passes and almost never get the ball above his waist without getting fouled or blocked. He is an important piece for this team, and he needs to at least be competent enough to catch the ball.

Alexis Ajinca played well in his time off the bench tonight, putting up 16 points and 14 rebounds. Although his playing time will be limited with the team at full health thanks to Monty Williams‘ shortened rotation, it was nice to see him work hard off the bench on a night where the rest of the team failed to.

Dante Cunningham did his job tonight, but that job may be enough to relegate him to a role on the bench. His energy, effort and basketball IQ are obviously very valuable attributes. However, New Orleans had so much trouble scoring the ball tonight from their starting lineup as a whole. Dante needs to be able to compliment scorers with his other tools and not be responsible for putting points on the board.

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He works hard enough and produces well enough to warrant a starting spot, and unless Jrue and Anthony return and help prove otherwise, Pondexter may be starting sooner rather than later.

Quincy Pondexter‘s second game as a member of the Pelicans did not go very well. He struggled with his shot, finishing ***, although he did continue to stay in front of his man for most of the night. Since his teammates were not as fortunate in that department, Q-Pon was forced to rotate, leaving his man free and causing an array of holes in the defense.

The Pelicans should not have lost tonight, even with Davis and Holiday sitting out. As bad as they played, Philly still had to take advantage and they did.

They shot 45% as a team, with assists coming on 22 of their 36 shots. They forced turnovers (18 Pelicans turnovers), took care of the ball (8 Sixers turnovers), and flew up and down the court all game.

The “big names” of the team Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel combined for 39 points, but what killed the Pels is the production from the rest of the team.

Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel (4) reacts after a score against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Hollis Thompson, Jakar Sampson, Jerami Grant and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute were all positive contributors on the night. To be honest, I never heard of those first three guys before tonight. Now that they helped beat the Pelicans, I will painfully recognize them for the rest of their careers.

I was hoping that the Celtics game would be the low point of the season. Tonight’s game takes the cake by a long shot. The 76ers are well coached, have young talent and really bust their butts game in and game out. But they should not be able to beat a Pelicans team that has legitimate playoff hopes.

New Orleans was embarrassed tonight, and games like this are the difference between teams who deserve to make the playoffs, and teams that don’t.

Everything that could have gone wrong for New Orleans did, and they ultimately lost 96-81. The Pelicans take on the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Next: Pelicans Bipolar Personality Continues In Win Over Detroit