The New Orleans Pelicans and the Golden State Warriors both went into Monday night’s game winless, but it was the Warriors that left with one in the win column, beating the Pelicans 134-123. Here was the good, the bad and the Ball from the game.
The Good: The Rookies
Jaxson Hayes made his regular season debut for the Pelicans in garbage time and he didn’t disappoint. In 23:28, Hayes scored 19 points on 9-11 shooting from the field and tallied a block and a steal.
He also added another poster slam dunk to his highlight reel. Don’t be surprised to see this one on SportsCenter’s Top 10:
Nickeil Alexander-Wallker also broke out of his shooting slump, scoring 15 points on 6-11 shooting from the field, including 2-4 shooting from 3-point range. He also dished out nine assists — tied for the team-high with Lonzo Ball — while turning the ball over just once.
With the Pelicans in need of scoring outside of Brandon Ingram — who once again led New Orleans with 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds — the rookies stepped up. Unfortunately, it was too little too late for them.
The Bad: Rebounding and Free-throw Shooting
In a game where the Pelicans trailed by as much as 29 points, there’s going to be a lot of bad. However, the two things that doomed the Pelicans were their defensive effort and poor free-throw shooting.
For starters, the Pelicans got killed on the glass 61-44 despite going up against Golden State’s undersized front court. Their starting center, Draymond Green, is 6’7. The Pelicans rank No. 19 in rebounds per game through four games.
Unless David Griffin intends on making a trade for some size in the front court at the trade deadline, Jaxson Hayes should probably get more playing time just for the sake of having another big body on the floor.
Free-throw shooting was another glaring issue for the Pelicans, as they shot 54.5 percent from the charity stripe. On the season, they’re ranked No. 20 in the league.
The thing that has doomed and will continue to doom the Pelicans, though, is their general defensive scheme. They allowed 121.8 points per 100 possessions.
One might assume that’s because Jrue Holiday is injured, but even when he was healthy they struggled. They flat out need to be better on that end of the floor.
The Ball
Lonzo Ball had a productive night for the Pelicans on offense, tallying 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, but he was no exception to New Orleans’ defensive struggles. Granted, Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell are tough defensive coverages, but he’s been inconsistent on both ends all season.
