Player Grades: New Orleans Pelicans let one slip against Atlanta Hawks
The New Orleans Pelicans fell tonight to 13-23 after another loss to the Eastern Conference, this time at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks.
The game started with very little focus being paid to the tiny orange ball that tall men were bouncing on the wood surface below them; Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver had been dealt before the game to the Cleveland Cavaliers. All eyes immediately turned toward his playing status, regardless of their matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.
By the end of the night, the Atlanta Hawks continued that disquietude by beating the Pelicans in New Orleans, despite being on the road for the second game of a back-to-back. Lacking a superstar-level performance tonight, the Hawks won instead through a balanced offensive attack: six players scored 7 or more points, and the team made 42% of their field goal attempts.
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Given one last shot to improve their record before a brutal ten-game road trip, the Pelicans failed to capitalize. Besides a few standouts, it was a pretty disappointing night for most of the team:
Jrue Holiday
PG, New Orleans Pelicans
A- Holiday’s mama ought to frame the box score from this one, because it was a gem. He played one of his most well-rounded games tonight, no matter what the box score says; an 18 and 5 line does it little justice. Switching on defense, Holiday was able to harass Paul Millsap and the rest of Atlanta’s bigs all night. Then on offense, he really was the ringleader for a unit that kept pace with Dennis Schroeder’s open-shot-finding system.
Buddy Hield
SG, New Orleans Pelicans
C- You could make the argument that if it weren’t for Hield, the Pelicans would have won the game. He was constantly harrassed by Thabo Sefolosha on offense, and got beaten by a variety of players on defense throughout the night. If Hield can’t make shots in the paint and rotate correctly on defense, his minutes will start trending downward. Outside of a few open threes (he was 4-9 on the night), Hield had an abysmal performance, but not an unthinkable one for a rookie.
Solomon Hill
F, New Orleans Pelicans
C Why does Solomon Hill never get assists? Although play-making (especially in transition) always appears to be a part of Hill’s value, he never seems to actually translate that skill onto the stat sheet. Tonight, Hill had only one assist, compared to several bizarre offensive plays. He botched an alley-oop pass in the first quarter, got blocked on a dunk attempt in the fourth, and looked out of sorts, despite his aggression. However, typically good defense saves his grade.
Dante Cunningham
F, New Orleans Pelicans
B Cunningham missed much of the middle of the game with an injury, but he is quietly a leader on this defense. Since moving to the smaller rotation, the Pelicans have survived on defense by switching in just about every opportunity. Cunningham’s length and vocal leadership have been a huge reason why it all has worked. Tonight, that was on full display keeping a rangy Hawks team in check.
Anthony Davis
PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans
B+ I usually don’t understand why NBA people praise a big man’s ability to end possessions with a defensive rebound. Mostly, it seems that any ‘ole player should be able to walk onto a court and box out for a loose ball. But after watching the first third of the Pelicans’ season, my understanding of the value of a rebound has changed. Especially with how small this team is playing, an 18-rebound nights like Davis’s tonight are extremely valuable. He didn’t do much scoring until the fourth, and it wasn’t enough.
Tyreke Evans
PG, New Orleans Pelicans
C+ I think the Pelicans could have a built a bigger lead in the first half of this game had Evans not hijacked it early in the second quarter. After hitting a beautiful buzzer-beater to end the first quarter, Evans took the next few minutes of game time to over-dribble, seek out tight passes, and generally force things too much. It also seeped into the Pelicans’ defense in a couple instances, both in which the chaos on offense melted into defensive lapses. Rough, but not fatal.
E’Twaun Moore
SG, New Orleans Pelicans
C I was so ready to praise another game-changing defensive play by Moore in the fourth quarter when he altered a Paul Millsap shot in the paint late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the loose ball would end up back with the Hawks, and their corresponding score was the ignitor for the run that would win them the game. That’s bad luck. However, Moore was aggressive on both ends, despite his shot just not falling tonight. It was a hard one to judge for every Pelican, but especially E’Twaun.
Terrence Jones
PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans
B+ Terrence Jones had the quietest double-double of the Pelicans’ season tonight. While he was incredibly aggressive in his first stint from the end of the first half to the middle of the second, it didn’t feel like a dominating performance by the Pelicans’ backup big man. His battle with Mike Muscala ended with Jones’s three blocks and three offensive rebounds compared to Muscala’s six rebounds and one block. The Hawks’ bench would have dominated this game if it weren’t for Jones’s quietly-solid night.
Langston Galloway
PG/SG, New Orleans Pelicans
D Ignore Galloway’s plus-ten tonight; unless the young guard is making threes, he hasn’t had value in any game this year. Tonight was no exception. Galloway was merely 2-6 from 3-point land and failed to impact the game outside of a deflating airball in the third quarter. Oof. Next: Anthony Davis fourth in initial All-Star results
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