The New Orleans Pelicans were embarrassed by the Los Angeles Lakers–who didn’t even have LeBron James. In a must-win game like this how did the Pels come out so flat? Jake Madison breaks down what the heck happened in the game and looks at why the Pelicans must make changes immediately otherwise the season might be over.
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44 Comments
Do you think the Pelicans season is over?
Jake, I told you recently that the Pels were tanking right in front of our eyes but it was a covert operation. Now will you believe me? Either it's that or we really need a coach.
Devastating loss especially considering what’s at stake.. don’t know what the problem is at this point
Jake thank you for your great work ! I never miss a show. Great insight. There are some really good shooters in the draft. Maybe shut down Zion ,and focus on draft and the offseason.
I was in attendance for this game and I would have to say this was probably one of, if not the worst game I have ever seen from the pels. They went down early and it’s like they never could slow down and get back to the pace they want to play at. Malik Beasley basically killed the game from the jump. Very upsetting performance. Also there were probably almost as many Lakers fans as pels fans out there. Pretty sad to see on a Tuesday night in your home state. We set such high expectations for this team every year and they underperform almost every year. Very frustrating loss
It look like they really don’t care about winning right now 🤦🏾♂️🗑
Time to rest starters and bring in fresh blood. Very frustrated with this team. Hats off to the Lakers for completely revamping their team with trades. They look great. The Pels made no significant changes and have gotten worse. I thought we had depth and team is better than they look but WOW. There are so many holes in this team.
If zion is out for the season, so are the pels.
We dug ourselves one helluva hole with that 1st half. Tough thing to get out of against any NBA team.
This one hurts man, but I’m still here
They need to quit watching the film, they are doing the same thing after each game. We already know how to loose.
Were is the heart!
I don’t think the season is over, but oh my goodness it is CLOSE. They looked bad on Saturday, great on Sunday, and horrific on Tuesday. Even though the NBA is a game of runs, that game last night was lost when the scoreboard said Pelicans 0, Lakers 16.
Thanks Jake. I'll keep it brief……. I've never been more embarrassed as a Pels fan. Keys to the collapse this season:
1. Outside Shooting – For the life of me I can't understand why we fail to acquire 3pt shooters yr in and yr out. I love our squad, but we look HORRIBLE!! We have the assets to improve shooting, but no deals are made.
2. Injuries – The story of the Pelicans existence. Not all but some players who wait until they're beyond 100% to comeback really leaves a sour taste in my mouth. If you're a baller then get out there and Ball! whatever happened to Ironmen, Gladiators, Warriors?… Not going to call out anyone, but some of our players need a lot more heart and grit.
3. Defense – EVERY SINGLE GAME opponents are shooting wide open 3's. EVERY SINGLE GAME!! We get very few open 3's, but for some reason we can't apply the same pressure consistently.
4. Referees – Not sure what spell the league has over the media, but no one ever calls out NBA refs for being TRASH. This is not jus a Pels problem (although we receive massive amounts of phantom fouls) it is a league wide problem! I truly despise NBA officiating and it only gets worse. Not me, but I can see why some ppl believe games are rigged based on horrible officiating.
5. Coaching – Willie is the epitome of a team player. He takes the blame for ever loss and none of the credit for wins. I pray that he's in the locker room getting in their {expletive} because our play since the New Year is atrocious! We stick with lineups that are not working Too Long. If JV is not going to play a lot of minutes with the starters because he's a bad matchup, PUT him in against the 2's!
At this point I have no idea who we are anymore.
Taking a break from the team, shit is just embarrassing
"Adjustments" and WG, a misnomer. Finito.
Joonas Valanciunas’ lack of early game offense, and rebounding was a big part of this loss. He took two bad jump shots instead of going into the paint and getting two points. He also was not a defensive presence in the paint at all. His rebounding was missing entirely. He’s very slow, and moves like a giant ogre. It’s almost like he has a weighted vest on.
I guess we are just an average team. Our record does not lie. It is what it is. Maybe we should tank, especially if we loose against the rockets.
aint no problem if Zion come back must say now on time
that game we werent gonna win anyways AD was playing need i say more
i been liken the reevs davis combo
u have to understand no one in the NBA can stop Zion so even if its next season
he gonna be pels best chance for a ring not a play off game a ring
Amen
There is only one change that matters at this point and that is Z being back. Since that's not happening, the season has been over for a while.
Games like this are ones where Jose Alvarado is missed the most.
LMAO , what did I tell you 2 months ago Jake . You claimed injuries were up around the league. What the problem now then Jake . STILL 🤕. This team is garbage 🗑️, THERE MEDICAL STAFF IS ☠️💀🤕🤮🤯🤬🙈. What Franchise DRAFTs a player knowing he's injury prone . In the 3 years Zion Williamson has been in NO . How many times has he helped the Pelicans make the playoffs, NONE. TBH , they had a better ending to their season last year when Z was hurt . The best ABILITY IS AVAILABILITY. HES NEVER AVAILABLE, ALWAYS HURT 🤕 , SETBACK, AFTER SETBACK , AFTER SETBACK. I'm 😴 😴 of wishing, hoping and praying 🙏 for a player riddled with 🤕 histories. hoping he can play a full season. He CANT, CALL A SPADE A SPADE . THIS FRANCHISE IS SET BACK FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS possibly longer . THIS FRANCHISE DOESN'T WANT TO WIN . THEY MADE NO MOVES OVER THE TRADE DEADLINE. BESIDES BRINGING IN A GUY WHO CANT SHOOT . WHICH Doesn't HELP THIS, HORRIBLE 3 POINT SHOOTING TEAM OUT . NOT TO MENTION ,THE DEFENSE HAS GOTTEN FAR WORSE WITH JOSH RICHARDSON. THIS TEAM CANT EVEN SCORE 100 POINTS WITH A 12 MAN ROSTER. SMH 🙈😨. Not to mention this team is 10-24 since New Years Eve. ZION ISNT THE CORNER STONE FOR THIS FRANCHISE. It's unfortunate for him. I LOVE HIS GAME AND HE seems like a great person. I also don't see Zion coming back this season. WHATS THE POINT OF BRINGING A PLAYER BACK FOR 2 WEEKS. BETTER LET HIM ICE UP AND GET BACK IN SHAPE . For next season. He needs to be 💯 , before he steps on the court. Who wants to watch this team get blown out by 25 points in the playoffs, not me . #NEWGMMEDICALSTAFF
Why do Dyson and Jaxson play like they've been commanded not to shoot? Even with nobody on them, gaping holes in the D overplaying BI, CJ, and one other lost player in a revolving door…. with absolute straight lines to the basket. That's been going on now for about a week. Add that to the pile of 'how to ensure losing.' It's like tanking in plain sight.
Impossible to maintain any confidence with the coaching staff when you look at this game & the OKC game. You cannot get stomped repeatedly when your game plan doesn’t work, yet this coaching staff continues to be unable or unwilling to make adjustments on the fly or at the half. I’m sure Willie’s job is safe for now but his bench coaches need to be the subject of some difficult conversations this off season.
And no, the roster isn’t good enough as currently constructed.
They play better with just one of them sometimes because they want to do too much iso ball, b.i dribbles the air out and shoot a contested shot.. C j wants to Cross someone over a 1000 times And shoot a contested shot when they do not have zion on the court they need a point guard To help calm things down, they do not trust who they have on the court facilitating . I said trying to make CJ point guard was a mistake I think that Portland would've loved to have Damien off ball more but cj couldn't get him the ball in his spots. We need a pg a 3pt shooters and Jax To hit his potential and consistently.
When we run the ball through Trey Murphy, we look much better than the iso shit ball with Ingram and CJ.
The adjustment is to trade Ingram and Zion. I believe Trey could be a stud if our coaching staff would ALLOW HIM!!
Well then the season is over Jake because my dude, Willie has not changed anything and here we are. The season is over. It's the end of the year man. No one is fixing anything at the end of the year. I'm ranting!!!! Ahhhhhhhh! Lol. But serious thanks for the shows. Maybe next year we will see it get better.
Hi Jake , We started the Lakers game like we finished the Portland game, No hustle no Pels
Season is over!
DONE!!!
Nah Jake season over
The biggest issue is CJ. He’s adding nothing to the offense and he’s one of the worst defenders in the league.
Let’s go
zion should fr slim down this offseason. (ik hes a great player in that body but we need him to stay healthy and hell still be just as good) LETS GET BETTER MORE FITTING PLAYERS AROUND ZION AND BI AND NOT SOME SILLY ASS JONAS/BILLY and love naji but him dyson and herb are all trying to play the same roles without being able to shoot, atleast one of them has to go.
The pelicans should have traded whatever they had to get someone but they didn’t
Don’t blame Zion
Blame the organization and Gm
I have never seen a NBA team shoot so badly.
We should’ve made a trade before the deadline
So embarrassing at home to
Thx Jake for keep it real‼️
22 points off 19 shots is horrible lol
To let Davis come back to N.O. with no Lebron and allow the Lakers to annihilate them was probably the most demoralizing Pels loss I have seen this year. I love BI, but he played like he had no pride or the will to show LA what they missed out on. CJ taking 10 3's was insane. But the defense, to get outscored 0-whatever the hell it was, was embarrassing as hell. The season isn't over. But at this point they need a priest standing by to administer last rights.
Question: Is Willie Green's reluctance to change his game plan or make adjustments causing him to lose the locker room?