Pelicans Win Fourth Straight Game! | Continue To Climb In Western Conference Standings

Pelicans Win Fourth Straight Game! | Continue To Climb In Western Conference Standings

The New Orleans Pelicans as uh this is a team that just continues to get better and better and damn near better than I’ve ever seen it as the Pelicans are now 39 and 25 they’re uh their fifth in the west uh they’re now up by two games though

They’re on they’re on the slightest of islands I think they’re down two and a half when it comes to uh being in fourth but they’re up two so a little bit of a buffer for this Pelicans team after winning four consecutive uh which actually ties their their highest win

Inrig of the season um they are for how about this they are 14 games above 500 for the first time in six years these 171 18 Pelicans are the last team to reach that Benchmark and I know they didn’t do it this early like uh who the

PS have next actually I haven’t looked at the upcoming schedule uh because the point is you could be talking about a pelican team seeing there at 40 and 25 40 wins not even 70 games in the season I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Pelicans do that so go ahead they got

The Cavs next Wednesday night and it’s in New Orleans okay so returning home um Cav’s a good team Cav Clippers Trailblazers all at home before you go on the road to Brooklyn Orlando Miami Detroit okay CL Cavs Clippers that’s that’s a nice it’s GNA be a tough little

One-w home stand but either way uh again this is a Pelicans team that just better and better man and this weekend it was especially apparent and it’s cuz Murphy’s so hot right now and Naji Marshall had a big game uh which was that Friday or Sunday

As well but who like who are you going to defend if you’re playing the Pelicans right now because it feels like everyone can score and they’re playing with chemistry it’s not herob ball it’s not just one guy on the other it’s it’s Zion consistently driving with a with a a

Speed and a touch and an ability to avoid Defenders that I’ve never seen and then now dishing it out to CJ who’s shooting over 40% herb who’s shooting over 40% naji’s damn near 40 Trey’s not at 40 but lately he’s basically been shooting 50 um it’s it’s it’s just again

Oh and then you have Brandon Ingram right who’s who’s really one of the lone remaining kind of twoo midr specialist in the league but even he’s shooting very well from three he’s excellent at finishing around the rim um yonas has again that’s what I’m saying there’s just so many options and

When they play with one another there’s flow and there’s confidence and most importantly there is trust between these guys and it’s not just on the offensive side I mean defensively as well you’re holding teams pretty consistently to under 100 points right now uh it’s a Pelicans team that is is ascending here

At the most important time of the year to be ascending so to your point T Bob like when you play the Clippers okay like kaw Leonard okay he’s going to a lot of times guard your best player that’s fine but the thing for the Pelicans whoever he decides to guard

Well that means that James Harden’s going to guard somebody yep right and that player has to be the one that night and when you have four guys that you feel like can go out there and like Zion bi for sure CJ Trey like all these

Guys you feel like can give you 30 on a given night well whoever like a g like James Harden’s on like that that has to be the guy that goes off that and that’s that’s a strength for you it’s a strength the fact that it can be

A different guy every night so kawh Leonard who’s a really good Defender if he shuts down option A that’s fine and then also with Zion playing multiple positions right and point Zion like you got to make a real choice on who you put on him as well because a lot of times if

You put a big on him he’s faster more athletic if you put somebody smaller well he’s going to dominate because he’s bigger than you yeah and that’s why you play him at the position that you’re playing in right now so the Pelicans have so many different options that it’s

Going to make other teams have to really think about how they use their best defensive player uh and I love how they started the road trip on Friday night uh making a statement early going into Philly opening up that game I mean just jumped on their ass 36-13 after the first frame great

Defense great outside shooting great uh paint scoring as well now granted credit to Philly they end up making that a game uh near the end but even that I love because you saw guys uh show up and make the plays that the NBA is going to be a

Game Run like it’s rare that you’re just going to carry a team wire to wire like that like the other team they’re paid too they’re eventually going to make a game of it so all of a sudden when it’s a few minutes left you’re only up 10 and

Philly has all the momentum the crowd’s going insane looks like got an easy lay up and who comes up with one of the most disrespectful blocks you’ll ever see uh Zion does and then he goes back and it sets up bi for a big three on the other

End then you’re only up six with a minute to go and um you have Zion with a clutch f finish around the rim to once again put you up eight and then herb comes back the next time and he hits the dagger three so it’s it it was um they

Jumped on him early but then when everything was working against them uh they found a way to save him off say nah we ain’t going to blow this I think and and and we’ve seen the Pelicans blow plenty of leads I think last year they

May have led the league I think in like 15 Point leads and which you end up losing the game but um Zion’s play look look at the play right before half in the Philly game 6 seconds left they roll the ball to about half court this man

Picks it up and he is so fast we don’t talk about talking Theon being fast too much he’s so quick and so fast he picks it up off the ground he slices through an entire NBA defense and he gets from half court when he picked it up from

Half court to the rim scores and there’s still two seconds left and it’s every single game you watch I I you just still can’t it boggles my mind how insanely consistent his ability to finishes and making these really tough finishes look easy these little DEA flicks of the

Wrist over multiple Defenders and what I love too everyone thinks they’re going to draw a charge they see Zion G aead of steam and every single time they try to draw a charge and he just basically turns into smoke and and somehow like reappears on the other side no his

Ability to avoid uh all of the these chars that people think they’re going to draw is it’s it’s it’s it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and so yeah again he doesn’t need to be able to shoot when you can do that and I don’t know how that’s going to work out super

Long term but he doesn’t need to be able to shoot when you can do that and then you can consistently set up your teammates like you have been again that stat line on Sunday may be his perfect stat line 27 points six boards seven assists two blocks and like Jake pointed

Out at the start of the show only one turnover um o look at that thing too dude uh Zion Williamson uh he’s fun to watch fun to watch right now I think the best basketball his career I agree with you and I think the rotation that we saw

Against the Hawks is exactly what you’re going to see in the postseason you played nine players you had Williamson 36 minutes Ingram 32 Jones 30 valent chunis 17 McCullum 31 then you get to your bench Nance 29 Marshall 18 Alvarado 17 Trey Murphy 30 like that is a that’s

A pretty good formula for success and if you have to maybe bump up valent junius’s minutes depending on maybe a matchup that’s fine as well maybe you bump Nance down right depending on the matchup and we’ve talked about that is it a more athletic five is it a bigger

Five do you need a physical presence whatever it might be but those nine guys right there that feels like your playoff roster yeah and you still have a bench if you need a three Ryan can come in and he can give you a three Hawkins the same

Way those are your shooters for the postseason that you keep on the bench and if you need what I don’t like when you smirk it makes me nervous why no no no no uh no no keep going keep going do you have another hawk in the

Chat no no no no no no no I got I got distracted uh keep going no it’s just like the final point is like okay so you have two Shooters and Ryan and Hawkins and and those guys that’s great to have in the postseason as well probably not

Going to get a whole lot of minutes but they’re there and you know if you need a shot if you’re playing catch up a little bit you’re going to start shooting more threes okay here here they come and that’s fine but those nine players right there the five obviously in the starting

Lineup give you what you need and then Nance gives you an athletic five that can play multiple positions nii we talked about it he’s your enforcer he’s a good basketball player but he’s also he is a mentality guy when he comes in there Off the Bench yeah he’s one of the

Dogs that uh Paul Pierce was referencing yeah last week and then you have Jose Alvarado we know what he is he’s the same situation but he’s also a really good defensive player and if they got a point guard that’s going off okay throw Jose in there and make him angry right

We’ve seen how much he can get under player skins and then you got Trey Murphy who’s maybe one of the best bench players if not the the best bench scorer like in the league well when Trey’s I mean he is the piece that has put the Pelicans over the top lately yeah uh

When he is playing like this it makes the pels damn near unbeatable like probably like a top five or borderline top five team in the entire NBA and when he’s not they’re still very good and they can still win but it’s just different uh when when he gives you the

Consistent outside threat and what I loved I think it was um uh yeah it was the Hawks game on Sunday at the very beginning because you know Trey’s a high flyer too at the very beginning he goes up for a dunk at the end of the first quarter at the buzzer

He gets blocked and the whole crowd’s going crazy they’re trying to flex on him trying to embarrass him and you could see the fire light up in his eye and he’s like all right all right you want to play okay we gonna play that way

And then what he do he went and dropped 28 on their head y again if it’s felt like it’s been so good lately well Trey Murphy’s gone over 25 times the last six games so it’s no surp prise that you’ve won uh the majority of those games and

So yes if if if he can he doesn’t have to maintain the damn near 50% run that he appears to be on right now but if but but if he can avoid this sub and maintain 40 or better then yeah all of a sudden um I I I do believe I I believe

That the Pelicans like that that’s probably the key to them like winning a playoff series they’re probably a if Trey Murphy can stay near this level of play I think the Pelicans are a top four team in the West I I really don’t think there’s any

Question if if he plays like this and you have this piece that can come off the bench and again he play he can play multiple positions he’s so long he can do multiple things for you it can be the key because these postseason teams that we’re talking about they are going to

Have a guy like that now might not be as good as Murphy can be at his highest but they’re going to have a guy like that and you have to have pieces in the postseason you have to have different guys that play different roles and it’s

Certain roles and we just laid out what the roles for this Pelicans team can be be they just have to be those things in the postseason Y and if you get that done T then yeah you can go and you can win a series you can be very competitive

That’s why people that cover basketball for a living at the highest level and played at the highest level like a Paul Pierce and a kg the clip we uh played they see something building in this Pelicans team that can be very fruitful in the postseason because of all I mean

Those two guys have won championships They Know What It Takes and they know that you have to have certain pieces not often times you going to have a team that just goes out like golden state is a little bit they’re the outlier because they went out there and they shot their

Way to a title like that’s not always going to be case yeah but but still but who won that first Finals MVP Iguodala Iguodala right so not even one of the they got key pieces and it’s like um on on on that Celtics team Big Baby

Davis like the big three needed big baby to get cross the finish line there you have to have those ancillary pieces and the Pelicans have that right now uh one of my favorite highlights of the week and two was the Zion of Trey Murphy I

Which um oh I mean if if you didn’t see it go look it up because there was a nice little reversal there also they were in the skeletons uniform once again was oh that’s the other thing I want to say about you you mentioned the length that’s when they become so scary

Defensively as well is when you have herb Trey Ingram Zion everybody’s so long and then if it wants to be Nance or Valen everybody’s just so long on the court at that time I would be a nightmare to have to try to find passing Lanes against this team so shout out to

Pelly’s huge weekend badass weekend going in the road getting two wins and so what now Jake win’s the two game home Stand start uh let’s see you have it coming up is it not tomorrow it is nope two days from now so you got it on Wednesday so you got

Wednesday Friday Saturday Wednesday Friday Saturday another big week coming up but we loved what we saw over the weekend there

On Off The Bench, T-Bob Hebert and Jacob Hester talk about the latest winning streak for the New Orleans Pelicans.