NBA: Pels still sieglos – Kings’ Clap

The New Orleans Pelicans failed to win their fifth preseason game and were also defeated by a Toronto Raptors B-Team. The Sacramento Kings cash a bitter bankruptcy against the Utah Jazz in their own hall. The Los Angeles Clippers also celebrate a cantal victory.

The Pelicans are the whipping boy of the preseason. After Miami had already poured 140 points to New Orleans the day before, the Raptors let it rain 134 points again. The hosts had kept up well in the first half, but then they let up after the break.

But that wasn’t because coach Alvin Gentry took out his starters. Anthony Davis played 31 minutes in which he played 36 points (13/18 FG), 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. Julius Randle (20, 11 boards) also contributed a double double. The other important newcomer, Elfrid Payton (6, 7 Assists), however, remained rather pale.

The Raptors, who had played in Montreal the day before, spared their entire Starting Five as well as Jonas Valanciunas and Fred VanVleet. So some reservists could shine, above all Pascal Siakam (21, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals), who delivered the complete package. Shooting Guard Malachi Richardson also scored 21 points, while Center Eric Moreland (12, 12 boards) contributed a double double.

Ouch, the Kings picked up a huge slide in their home hall. The disaster started early, so Kings coach Dave Joerger used four timeouts in the first quarter alone. But it didn’t help much, after 16 minutes it was already 47:16 for Jazz. Both sides did not spare any of their players, only Bogdan Bogdanovic was missing on the Kings side.

Sacramento hope De’Aaron Fox caught a particularly black day. The Point Guard came in 28 minutes to just 4 points (1/10 FG, 2/5 FT) and 2 assists. A little more hope was given by the performance of No.2-Pick Marvin Bagley, who collected 17 points and 8 rebounds.

Against the extremely balanced Utah team, however, this was far too little. Six players scored double digits, while Rudy Gobert (18, 7/8 FG) was the top scorer. Like Donovan Mitchell (13, 4/6 FG), the Frenchman only played in the first half, however, later the reservists were allowed to let off steam. Alec Burks (17) and rookie Grayson Allen (14) made the audience sit up and take notice.

Maccabi was never an opponent for the Clippers that evening. Especially against Boban Marjanovic, the Israelis had no means at all and scored 18 points (9/11 FG) and 12 rebounds in 17 minutes. It makes it quite clear that the difference between the teams was simply too big.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers was able to try out all sorts of things, so no player played for more than 21 minutes. Rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (7, 7 assists) once again indicated his potential and scored his only triumvirate in the match. The other rookie, Jerome Robinson, scored eight points.

For Maccabi, Center Roman Sorkin was the best scorer with 12 points. Former NBA professional Josh Childress scored 9 points.