A huge third quarter helped the New Orleans Pelicans overcome a slow start and finish the scrimmage portion of their schedule in the bubble unbeaten as they downed the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, 124-103.
The good: JJ Redick
There were plenty of good things about the second half of Monday’s scrimmage against the Bucks, most of those coming in the second half. But JJ Redick’s third quarter was as impressive as they come.
Over the final roughly five minutes, Redick was 5-for-5 from three and 5-for-5 from the line. He was throwing flames, including a four-point play to cap off his incredible stretch.
Honorable mentions: Second-half rally, Brandon Ingram, balanced scoring, Jaxson Hayes alley-oops
The bad: Defense on Giannis
Giannis Antetokounmpo was unstoppable. In 23 minutes, he had 30 points on 8-of-15 shooting overall and 12-of-15 shooting from the line.
On one hand, the Pelicans aren’t going to have to defend Antetokounmpo unless they reach the NBA Finals. On the other hand, it exposed one of the biggest weaknesses in this Pelicans lineup. The team lacks a defensive stopper that can at least match-up against the likes of Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and other big players.
Now, few teams have a player that can match-up with those players but the Pelicans were forced to play Nicolo Melli on the Greek Freak for much of the night. Zion Williamson COULD be that guy, but he’s got some ground to make up before getting to that level as a defender.
Honorable mentions: The start, three-point shooting
The Ball: Strongest game yet
Ball saved his best for last in the exhibition slate. In 23 minutes, Ball scored 12 points with five rebounds and three assists. His three-pointer wasn’t consistently falling as he went just 2-of-7 from the range.
However, he was 3-of-4 from the field and finished 5-of-11 overall. Ball also had a pair of steals and had a plus-minus of -1, tied for the best mark of the Pelicans starters.
