Pelicans Drop Heartbreaker to New York Knicks
Before we proceed with the recap, let’s appreciate Anthony Davis.
He had a few defensive lapses but the guy put up 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks on 14/26 shooting a 2/4 from three-point range. That’s insane. Tim Duncan and KG never approached that level of play combined with that fluid of an outside shot. It’s safe to say that though the team is still struggling, AD is officially back.
The question people seem to be asking is “what’s wrong?”
A better question is “what’s right?”
What’s right is Gentry’s approach to Jrue Holiday. He overplayed him a little to start the season but he’s been sticking to reasonable amounts of minutes and bringing him back slowly. We could have probably played Jrue 34 minutes tonight and won, but that’s not the plan.
Another thing which is right is Ryan Anderson. He has amazing heart, and hustled like no one else on this roster. He looks healthy and in better shape, so we can take away that he will be a consistent weapon for the rest of the season.
Continuing, Eric Gordon looks great as well. Prior to today’s game he was averaging 20.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and a steal on 41% from the floor and 39% from three. If he sustained that for an entire season he’s probably a top five to seven shooting guard.
Additionally, the defense has gotten much better since Asik came back and at times the offense shows signs for being potentially fluid.
The answer to the question “what’s wrong” is that the things listed above are really the only things which are currently “right.”
Nov 15, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon (10) drives between New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) and center Robin Lopez (8) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
We’re still missing 3 of our core players, we’re still adjusting to a new system, we’re still trying to figure out how each piece we have fits into the puzzle Gentry intends to build, and we have played a collection of very challenging teams. The teams which are not challenging have been lucky, and I would much rather face a great team than a lucky one.
To those who point fingers and try to isolate single issue; answer this question. “How do you defend against Kevin Seraphin hitting contested 15 foot post hooks?” because that’s the reason the Pelicans lost as much as anything. The truth is that as much as you can schematically prepare and plan for a game you can’t prepare for a backup center averaging 6 minutes a game to murder you in the clutch minutes of the fourth quarter.
Alexis Ajinca is a better player than Kevin Seraphin no? So why was Ajinca terrible and Seraphin incredible? Because the Pelicans simply weren’t lucky.
Were I the coach, I probably would have given Asik some more burn. I probably would have tried defending Melo with AD a little more and maybe I use one of my final timeouts at like 33 seconds instead of 12. Can you honestly argue any other schematic changes the Pelicans should have made?
Plentiful are those who are going to criticize Gentry but few are those who will provide a specific example of something he should have done better.
Nov 15, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry looks on during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Melo was the Knicks leading scorer with 29 points on 11/21 shooting but it’s not like he was getting open shots. On any other night he could have been 5/21 on the exact same isolation based shots and no one would bat an eye.
Meanwhile Alonzo Gee tripped over his own feet at one point and caused a turnover, so I ask you again, what could the coaching staff have done to prepare for that?
The thing the Knicks struggle with the most is their tendency to foul drivers, and the thing they succeed at the most is offensive rebounding.
Gentry clearly tried to coach the players into going hard at the rim but that only works with proper spacing and players who can sell the contact. Jrue is a great player, but he’s terrible at drawing fouls, how do you “coach” that kind of an issue exactly?
What do you do to stop the offensive rebounding?
Like I said maybe you play Asik more, but maybe you play your 7’2″ 270 pound other center as well. Can you predict he will go 0/1, grab 1 rebound and commit three turnovers in the span of seven minutes? No you can’t.
Tyreke coming back will help immensely.
I can’t stress enough how much I feel like he’s the exact player the Pelicans need right now. A 6’6″ guard who can defend small forwards, get to the line, push the ball, find AD and the surrounding shooters the Pelicans have is the most important thing a Pels fan could ask for right now, so look forward to his return in the coming weeks.
The Pelicans next game is against the Nuggets who are at the bottom of the Western Conference.
I trust Gentry to plan well, and I trust Anthony Davis to continue being one of the best and most unique players in NBA history. If Darrell Arthur explodes for 16 points on 8/10 shooting in the fourth quarter can we blame either one of them?
Only thing the Pelicans can do is wait and hope.
They have been smart this season, they simply haven’t been lucky…….