After the injury of DeMarcus’ cousins, there was a lot of discussion about what the New Orleans Pelicans should do. Enter into long-term deals to prepare for the next season or to put everything on one card and target the playoffs. At the latest since the trade for Nikola Mirotic, it is clear that the pelicans want to continue attacking the playoffs. Although the shape curve points upwards, success has been rather scarce so far.
After the injury of DeMarcus’ cousins, action was taken quickly in the Big Easy. Just under a week before the deadline, the Pelicans made their nails with their heads and secured the services of Nikola Mirotic, who is to close the gap left by Boogie to a certain extent. The direction of the march is clear: The playoffs are in the crosshairs of the pels.
However, it is currently clear that the vote is still insufficient. This became clear in the games against Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets. Against Utah, Davis and Mirotic failed to get control of the pick-and-roll and were dominated on the boards.”We still have to get a grip on this,”Anthony Davis told NOLA. com.
The duel went 58:46 to Jazz: In the nine games without cousins, the opponents of the Pels already played 10 rebounds or more than New Orleans four times, although Mirotic personally played good numbers in terms of rebounds (2.8 offensive, 6.3 defensive). Cousins is one of the best rebounders in the league, which is why the pels have to intercept his dominance on the boards in the collective. Even Emeka Okafor, who didn’t play a single game in the NBA for four full seasons and even started the last two games, was conjured out of his hat.
Another indication of the absence of a vote: In their overtime win over the Nets, the Pels quasi begged for a defeat as they fought several times and Allen Crabbe hit the three-way to 116:116 just before the end of the last quarter, because the team defended against two off-ball screens did not work. The same thing happened in the OT with a further throw-in of the nets, which led to a light basket.
Mirotic is also lagging behind expectations. From both the field and beyond the three-line, it is catastrophic (40.2 percent FG, 30.2 percent 3P). Mirotic played the best season of his career in Chicago: he scored almost 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from downtown. But this is not worrying: Mirotic is notorious as a streaky shooter, but in a few games this can look quite different.
Davis didn’t want to put too much into these figures either “Boogie and I also needed some time at the beginning, but that’s something that happens in practice and from game to game,”explained the Braue. But time is a scarce commodity, especially in the Big Easy, where anything but the playoffs would be a huge disappointment: without cousins, the Pelicans lost five out of nine games and temporarily ranked outside the playoff places, especially the up-and-coming Utah jazz band NOLA. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry screws his rotation to prevent Jazz or Clippers from passing by.
This may seem a bit unplanned at times. For the first time in DeAndre Liggins he sat down in a defensive specialist and put Rajon Rondo on the bench to let the playmaker play 40 minutes in the next game.
Above all, the playmaking of cousins has to be replaced, as they were often standing at the bulb to distribute the balls. In addition to Rondo, Jrue Holiday is also responsible for this task. In the summer, it was endowed with a monster contract (126 million dollars/5 years) which he could not really justify at times. Nevertheless, he still maintains stable numbers and has an enormous effect on the performance of the Pelicans before cousins injured themselves.
Without cousins on the field, however, Holiday collapsed: his net rating fell from 3.9 to 1.2, while he only hit a meager 26.5 percent of downtown. However, he uses his higher usage rate for an increase in assists (7.1, previously 5.2). However, the pels in this category are still led by Rondo, who often comes from the bank in the new rotation. Rondo is said to drive the bank through his passing and playmaking.
“He would do anything to help the team,” said Gentry,”but the problem with Rondo is his inconsistency: in one night he spends 25 assists (franchise record), in another, his performance resembles the creepy mascot of the Pels. His difficulties with the litter are well known. Especially without cousins, this has a big impact, as Boogie himself was able to widen the field as a center. It is quite possible that the pels will hit the buyout market again after Okafor’s commitment to get another shooter.
When Rondo moves onto the bench, E’ Twaun Moore is certainly a profiteer who is allowed on his actual position, the two. He is – apart from Boogie and Davis – one of the most pleasant stories of this season and has been chasing almost 45 percent of his threesomes through the Reuse since his cousins were injured. Nevertheless, it becomes clear what effect Boogie had on the field: his presence enabled more free throws for role-players like Ian Clark or the ex-Bamberger Darius Miller. The odds of both shooters went down and it becomes clear that they don’t have the quality to catch the boogie failure.
Unlike in Washington, where the failure of John Wall was excellently spread over several shoulders, the pelicans with Anthony Davis stand and fall. In all four games, which the Pels won without a boogie, Davis Monster numbers laid down and led his team almost alone to victory. He is a guarantor for good performances every night: The Brow scort – since the injury of Boogie – 31.3 points per game, takes a whopping 23.2 throws per game and is above all outstanding from downtown (42.4 percent).
But as always it’s a narrow ridge with Davis, as you could see again against the Lakers. Davis went down after a collision with Julius Randle and the whole Smoothie King Center held its breath. One knows about the not too thin medical file of the former No. 1-Pick. In the second quarter, however, the brew came back and poured in 42 points in just 33 minutes.
The Pelicans have now won three games in a row, but they still have a lot of work to do. Bitter were the defeats against the direct rivals from Utah and Los Angeles. After the All-Star-Break, which gives NOLA some time to improve their match, the Pelicans have the chance to prove their playoff caliber when they have to play against the two teams again.
However, the game plan is quite a challenge. In the next ten games you’ll come across boulders like the Spurs, the Bucks and the Wizards. At the latest after that it will become clear whether the Pelicans have chosen the right way with their win-now-setting. Without cousins, it’s The Brow, please take the wheel. The All-Star from the time before Boogie should remember this situation very well.