The season has not yet started and the Pelicans’ infirmary is filling up a little more every day. Already deprived of Jose Alvarado and Larry Nance Jr, Willie Green lost last night Trey Murphy who injured his head on a big screen from Bruno Fernando, then especially Naji Marshall, whose knee turned on an innocuous action on the rebound . The New Orleans winger left the Atlanta room on a wheelchair, and he must undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his injury.
To make matters worse, the Pelicans were not good against the Hawks. One more time. We expected a reaction after the spanking received against the Rockets, but Willie Green’s players are unrecognizable. Certainly Zion Williamson is much more enterprising at the start of the match, but for the rest, it is a copy and paste of the match against Houston with 23 lost balls, 30% on shots at half-time, or even 62 points conceded in the painting.
We can summarize the Pelicans’ performance in this eight-minute stretch without a single basket in the 2nd quarter. Obviously, the Hawks, without being great, will take off to lead by 18 points at the break (54-36). When Willie Green calls his starters back to the bench, in the middle of the 3rd quarter, the gap has not changed (76-58), and the “garbage time” just allows Jordan Hawkins, the Pelicans rookie, to show off his shooting skills.
Final score: 110-105 for Atlanta with 18 points from Onyeka Okongwu and 15 points from Trae Young.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
