Pelicans to blame for Thunder loss in 2023 NBA play-in tournament

[ad_1]

New Orleans Pelicans fans will have to take all the social media clowning on the chin, especially the ever-vociferous Los Angeles Lakers fan base. After starting the season as one of the top seeds in the Western Conference, the Pelicans’ season came to an untimely end after failing to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Play-In tournament game of 9 /10 2023.

Now, after months of mocking the Lakers for potentially giving up a pick that could end up landing atop the NBA Draft, the Pelicans won’t be using that pick trade anymore because their own pick will definitely land higher than the Purple and Golds.

What makes the Pelicans’ season-ending loss to the Thunder so heartbreaking is that they had a chance to avoid the 9/10 playoff entirely if they only took care of business against the Timberwolves. of Minnesota last Sunday. Losing to a team with literal fights isn’t exactly the best look, and now the Pelicans have paid the price.

While it’s certainly dishonest to point fingers, since games are won and lost by the whole team in a team sport, some players are more responsible than others for their heartbreaking 123-118 loss on Wednesday.

This does not mean that the team members below are worthless or worthy of ridicule. On the contrary, they will have to take their time this offseason to reassess what they could have done better against the Thunder and come back stronger. There’s always a next season anyway.

That said, here are the three Pelicans who deserve the most blame for their season-ending loss to the Thunder in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament.

*Watch LIVE NBA games with fuboTV (click for free trial)*

Oh man. Where to start.

Against the Timberwolves on Sunday, Brandon Ingram did everything he could to propel the Pelicans to victory. Ingram scored 42 points on 16/28 shooting in a game where a win meant the Pelicans would have two chances to qualify for the playoffs instead of just one. But CJ McCollum was no match for it.

McCollum had a disastrous final two minutes against the Timberwolves, missing easy shots and two crucial free throws with a chance to cut the deficit to a one-possession game. The 31-year-old guard ended up shooting 9-23 from the field and a game-worst -15 in a five-point loss.

However, CJ McCollum has shown up in win-or-go home games before, particularly in 2019 when he put the Portland Trail Blazers on their backs with a legendary performance in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets for seal a trip to the Western Conference Finals. . So McCollum definitely has it in him to explode for his back-to-the-wall team against the Thunder.

Alas, McCollum once again struggled offensively, scoring just 14 points on 5-15 shooting. He also missed a floater, a shot he’s made a thousand times throughout his career with a chance to put the Pelicans up three.

For the highest-earning team member, that kind of performance is simply inexcusable in a win-or-go home game. McCollum may be suffering from a thumb injury, but that doesn’t justify his disappointing play.

Grass Jones

Herb Jones, who doesn’t average double digits, held off the Thunder, scoring 20 points and surprisingly becoming the Pelicans’ third-leading scorer.

But there have been plenty of missed opportunities for Jones that he will surely brood over this offseason.

Herb Jones will certainly be disappointed in himself after letting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander go in his place for what ended up being the winning bucket. Jones stands at an extremely high standard on defense, so failing to contain SGA’s dribble penetration will be a sore spot for the Pelicans wing.

And sure enough, Jones literally threw the Pelicans’ season off when he and CJ McCollum failed to connect on the same page on a backcourt entry pass with a slim chance of tying the game as it was three.

Is that a bit unfair to Herb Jones, someone who went up against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and prevailed for two quarters, something few players can boast about? Maybe.

But given the thin margins between winning and losing, Jones takes the cake as the scapegoat for the two games that cost the Pelicans the most.

Willie Green

The reason behind head coach Willie Greens’ preference to roll with his big bench men (Jaxson Hayes, Larry Nance Jr.) in critical time over Jonas Valanciunas isn’t too hard to fathom. Valanciunas doesn’t have the fastest feet when covering the perimeter, and he’s been exposed plenty of times trying to blitz the pick-and-roll ball handler.

But Valanciunas was cooking the Thunder, especially on the offensive glass, and his lack of involvement in the Pelicans’ third-quarter offense was simply inexcusable.

That’s not to say Willie Green is a bad coach. Green is smart and his motivational skills are excellent. But there comes a time when, as a manager, you may just have to roll with your most talented players, which he didn’t after benching Jonas Valanciunas in the dying embers of their defeat. against the Thunder.

[ad_2]