National Basketball Association

New Orleans Pelicans: Player Grades and Awards for loss to Washington Wizards

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:45 p.m. ET

Fansided, Brendon Kleen/FanSided via Pelican Debrief

The New Orleans Pelicans hosted the Washington Wizards tonight in a matinee showing on NBATV, and lost 104-97.

The best teams beat you in simple ways: During the first quarter of tonight’s game, one of David Wesley‘s Keys to the Game on the Fox Sports New Orleans Broadcast was “contain Wall and Beal”. When a team’s success is so closely related to the successes of two gifted players like those in Washington’s starting backcourt, you step onto the court with a built-in advantage. The New Orleans Pelicans were blown away by that advantage in the first half.

The two combined for 24 points, Wall dished 9 assists, and Beal was a +24 in the first half alone. The Wizards’ role players fit nicely, at least in the starting lineup, and they showed up as well: 11 points and 7 rebounds for Marcin Gortat, 4-11 on 3-pointers for the rest of the rotation. More than anything, though, the Wizards’ success came in the Pelicans’ failures.

The Pels turned the ball over eight time in the first half and made only 40.5% of their shots. The starting lineup made 2-9 threes, and the offense turned stale when coach Alvin Gentry turned to the bench to bridge between the first and second quarters.

And then the third quarter happened. The starters (with Moore in Hield’s place) pushed a 17-point halftime deficit to a tie, led by Anthony Davis’s 16 points and more great play (especially as a shooter) by Jrue Holiday. The Washington offense occasionally devolved into streaks of John Wall isolations, and the Pelicans took advantage.

That Holiday-Moore-Hill-Davis-Motiejunas lineup was the best one by far for the Pelicans tonight, and Gentry rode it all game long. In the end, that group did not do enough to finish the game.

Turnovers bookended the game for the Pelicans, and Washington used easy buckets to build the lead late and finish off the victory.

The stars continue to shine for the Pelicans

New OrleansPelicans97

WashingtonWizards104

Jrue Holiday

PG, New Orleans Pelicans

B+ If this is the introduction into Holiday’s follow-up to last year’s golden second half, the Pelicans might have something to say this season after all. Holiday was the only thing going right for this team throughout the first half, finishing with 16 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds in the period. Though he would finish with a 26-point double-double, his defense on John Wall ceded even more points for the Wizards, and the Pelicans couldn’t maintain their offense in the fourth quarter.

Buddy Hield

SG, New Orleans Pelicans

F Hield has had a rough go of things recently; tonight, that meant missing his first five shots on his way to zero points and two turnovers in 16 minutes. There’s not a lot you can say when Hield turns in a performance that poor on a night when the Pelicans needed his skills so dearly.

Solomon Hill

F, New Orleans Pelicans

C- Eek. I initially felt fine about Hill’s game before realizing that he shot only 2-9 and didn’t really make his presence felt on defense. He made a three in the first minutes of the game, but failed to impact the game in any tangible way for the rest of the night. Sure, he was on the court for the third quarter run, but the Pelicans lost after all. What gives?

Dante Cunningham

F, New Orleans Pelicans

C Cunningham missed part of the first half with a right knee injury, so his grade is incomplete. He was fine when on the court, and got the pace going pretty nicely when the team needed it, but missed two corner threes in the fourth quarter when the Pelicans offense started to breath its last gasps.

Anthony Davis

PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans

A- Wow. So much for being hampered by a right quad injury. Davis played 40 minutes tonight. In those 40 minutes: 36 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks. Tonight felt like those early season romps in which Davis’s absolute best, MVP-grade performances weren’t enough to seal a victory. That, and his six turnovers, bring him down a notch.

Tyreke Evans

G, New Orleans Pelicans

D I was really disappointed in Evans tonight. He may have been tired, feeling the effects of the knee injury, or simply uncomfortable in this matchup. Regardless, he attempted only two shots and wasn’t really involved in the offense at any point. This is worth monitoring.

E’Twaun Moore

SG, New Orleans Pelicans

C Some day, NBA fans will understand how good Moore is on defense. He grades poorly by advanced box score metrics like Defensive Box Plus-Minus and Defensive Real Plus-Minus, but he makes so many smart plays to squelch efficient opportunities that the offense tries to find. Tonight, he was on the court for both of the Pelicans’ defining runs during the third and fourth quarters, but struggled when it mattered most. He turned the ball over in the fourth quarter and contributed to the team’s over-passing woes throughout.

Terrence Jones

PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans

D Jones has been a key cog in several big Pelicans wins this year. When he fails to get involved down low, that’s generally an indication of a struggle for him. He struggled against the Wizards’ backup big man Jason Smith, and was a big reason the Pels’ bench struggled.

Langston Galloway

PG/SG, New Orleans Pelicans

C- Eleven minutes feels right when Galloway’s shot isn’t going (2-4 on threes tonight). He didn’t feel so electric as he can when he’s on, so Gentry opted to ride Holiday and Moore a little harder tonight. I’d have liked to see what Frazier did with the offense, but that’s a different battle.

Donatas Motiejunas

PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans

Who provided the most value for their team in tonight’s game?

MVP: Though the Pelicans may not have even been in this game without the play of Jrue Holiday throughout the first half, it was Anthony Davis who truly turned the tide in the second half, and put the game within reach. Holiday’s effort resulted in a 17-point halftime deficit; Davis gave the Pelicans a chance in the fourth quarter.

Simply put, Marcin Gortat was no match for Davis. He gave him too much room on midrange jump shots, and lost the rebounding battle. Davis, on the other hand, put pressure on Gortat in the post and forced several turnovers. No one has as much impact on the Pelicans’ success as Davis, and that was clear tonight.

LVP: Buddy Hield. When the Pelicans struggle to shoot and find offense, a lot of that blame has to fall on Hield, one of the only players on the team capable of creating for himself and consistently making open shots. Tonight, he was 0-5 and only earned 16 minutes. Across from Washington’s starting guards, Hield’s night looks abysmal.

X-Factor: These awards aren’t reserved for Pelicans; this one has to go to Bradley Beal. The lightning bug made 11 of 16 shots for 27 points, bringing the Wizards back from the brink in the third quarter and icing this victory. When he’s making difficult shots from midrange and parleying those makes into open space behind the arc, he’s unstoppable.

Turning Point: The middle of the fourth quarter. Anthony Davis can only do so much, and when he and other Pelicans are turning the ball over so often (14 total tonight), it’s going to end badly. Washington won the fourth quarter by 12 points, which ended up being almost exactly the margin of victory for their team.