NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans have lost two of their last three, with one of those defeats coming at the hands of tonight’s opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis has won three in a row since the return of All-Star Ja Morant, starting with their two-point win over the Pelicans in the Smoothie King Center a week ago.
In losses to the Grizzlies and Rockets, the Pelicans stumbled down the stretch after holding solid leads over both foes. New Orleans is now 5-7 (.417) in clutch situations, good for 20th in the NBA. The Pels’ -16.6 net rating in clutch situations ranks 26th among 30 teams.
One of the team’s biggest problems in late-game situations has been the failure of its stars to show up.
In their loss to the Grizzlies last Tuesday, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram were outscored by Ja Morant 14-9 in the fourth quarter as the Pelicans surrendered a 14-point fourth quarter lead.
They combined for seven points in the final period against the Rockets, as a five-point lead to start the quarter ended up as a two-point loss.
For comparison, since Morant’s return, the Grizzlies are averaging 26.3 fourth quarter points from their trio of Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane.
There are currently 20 players in the league averaging at least 7.0 points in the fourth quarter, 30 posting at least 6.0 points. None of them are New Orleans Pelicans. And the first Pelicans player who comes up in the fourth quarter scoring stats is neither Williamson nor Ingram; it’s CJ McCollum (5.9 ppg).
When Ingram and Williamson were absent, the general refrain was that it is incredibly hard to collect wins without stars in the lineup. Now that both are healthy, it’s being shown that it’s nearly hard to do so without stars playing up to their ability.
The burden for correcting that falls on both Williamson and Ingram, but also upon a Pelicans coaching staff that has been unable to solve this team’s late-game problems. James Borrego in particular was lauded for his ability to get the most out of his players when the games were at their tightest.
“It’s just about exposing matchups, figuring out whose hands you want the ball to be in, trying to put your best players against maybe one of the not-so-great (opposing) defenders,” said CJ McCollum during Tuesday’s shootaround.
If only it were that simple.
Whatever the solution, the Pelicans need to find it soon. This home stand doesn’t get any easier after tonight, and the Pels’ margin for error isn’t getting any wider.
Most Recent Starting Lineups
| Memphis Grizzlies | New Orleans Pelicans |
| G – Ja Morant | G – CJ McCollum |
| G – Desmond Bane | G – Herb Jones |
| F – Vince Williams Jr. | F – Brandon Ingram |
| F – Jaren Jackson Jr. | F – Zion Williamson |
| C – Bismack Biyombo | C – Jonas Valanciunas |
Injuries
New Orleans Pelicans: Matt Ryan (right elbow surgery) is Out. Cody Zeller (right ankle sprain) is Questionable. Larry Nance Jr. (right rib fracture) is Doubtful.
Memphis Grizzlies: Steven Adams (knee), Brandon Clarke (Achilles), Luke Kennard (knee), and Derrick Rose (hamstring) are Out. Marcus Smart (ankle) is Questionable.
Who: Memphis Grizzlies (9-19) at New Orleans Pelicans (17-13)
Season Series:
- Pelicans def. Grizzlies, 111-104
- Grizzlies def. Pelicans, 115-113
- Dec. 26: Grizzlies at Pelicans
- Feb. 12: Pelicans at Grizzlies
Where: Smoothie King Center
When: Dec. 26, 7:00 PM CT
Where to watch: Bally Sports New Orleans
Where to listen: WRNO 99.5
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QUit playing players that don’t need to be playing at crunch time. BI and Zion are being given no space.
And please trade your precious draft picks for shooting and a rebounding bench big.
Or, just continue be mediocre.
Will we see TMIII in the fourth quarter this game in crunch time? Or will Willie continue to be stubborn and give us the same ole same ole and say how hard they tried in the post presser as he answers the easy questions.
Willie is an awful coach and needs to go. This team loses every game in the 4th with his terrible decisions. I have never seen a worse 4th quarter team.
They wrote a book about the Pels coaching staff and players
It is called Confederacy of Dunces
Unbelievable
Willie just doesn’t get it, and he never will… In a league increasingly leaning towards offense and spreading the floor, he keeps throwing lineups out on the floor that do the opposite. The only team that Willie is beating defensively is the Pelicans. In the first half, Willie subs in Trey for Zion, thereby eliminating the ability of those two players to play off each other, with Trey creating space for Zion. Hawkins gets zero minutes. Herb and Jose can’t throw the ball in the ocean and the team too often plays 4 on 5 on offense.
And finally, it is absolutely apparent that BI has not, and will never, buy into the offensive philosophy Borrego was supposed to bring to the team. That system depends on player movement without the ball and constant passing. BI has a style he wants to play, and he ain’t about to change. Ball dominant, back down the defender, rise and shoot. That may work for BI, occasionally it works for the Pels, but it exposes the promotion of the Borrego system as a fraud. Makes me wonder why Borrego was even brought onto the coaching staff. And frankly, it isn’t at all apparent to me that Willie has bought into the Borrego system.
It’s a shame. Team has talent, talent that with some tweaks and additions, could be a nice contender. But it doesn’t seem capable of looking in the mirror and doing a self-assessment. And that starts with the HC.
It is obvious that some (and we know who they are) care more about the name on the back of the jersey than they do the name on the front of the jersey.