The New Orleans Pelicans were close to getting their first win of the regular season on Saturday, but they came up just short, losing to the Houston Rockets 126-123. Coming up short has been a theme for the Pelicans in the regular season so far, and not just because of their undersized frontcourt.
The Pelicans nearly won their regular season opener against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, but lost in overtime. Then, on Friday, they let the Dallas Mavericks pull away in the fourth quarter.
They’re getting close, but they just can’ seem to finish games. After their latest close loss on Saturday, Lonzo Ball told reporters the Pelicans his team needs to emphasize doing the “little things” if they want to add one in the win column sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, a lot of the little things that the Pelicans aren’t doing can be attributed to how young they are, and the only thing that’s going to help them get through that is time.
That’s not to say they can’t win games in the process, but those small problems could be the difference between the Pelicans finishing with 35 games and 45 games. Unless Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations wants to deal for more proven talent, New Orleans is going to have to live through the growing pains.
