New Orleans Pelicans fall to the Wizards, 94-89
By Owen Sanborn
For the second straight season, the Pelicans took the floor in Jacksonville, Fla., for a preseason game, this time against the upstart Washington Wizards. After a loss in Atlanta on Monday, New Orleans was looking to reverse the bad vibes and pull out a victory. Unfortunately, they fell just short, losing 94-89.
Notables:
I failed to find any video of this game on the Internet so all of these judgments are purely based off of the box score provided to me by nba.com.
1. The Pelicans made it out healthy yet again!
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This is a victory for fans and players alike given the lack of injury luck this franchise has had in recent years.
Tyreke Evansis still out with his hamstring injury, but other than that New Orleans has been able to elude potential season crushing injuries thus far (crossing my fingers immediately).
2. Routine race for the starting small forward spot update:
Darius Miller gets the majority of minutes and does nothing with them!
Poor Darius Miller (who I actually don’t mind as a player) was given the starting nod for the third consecutive game and wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunity to take grasp of the small forward spot (while Evans is out). Despite logging the most minutes on the team, 27:07, he shot a forgettable 1-for-7 from the field, finished with only three points and a minus-10 plus/minus.
Maybe he didn’t play as badly as the box score would suggest, but I guess we will never know because somehow there is no video for this game at the moment. You would think preseason basketball would be more of a priority for people.
John Salmons and Luke Babbitt didn’t fare much better, playing fewer minutes combined than Miller while finishing with three points apiece.
Miller may have not lost any ground on the small forward race based on the play of Salmons and Babbitt, but he certainly didn’t separate himself either.
3. Jimmer stays hot.
Jimmer Fredette may be the most pleasant surprise of the preseason this far for New Orleans, and he continued his hot play on Wednesday. He shot 3-of-6 from behind the arc and 50 percent from the floor en route to a 10-point night in a little more than 20 minutes played.
That kind of quick-strike offensive play is exactly what GM Dell Demps had in mind when he signed Mr. Fredette to a one year deal this summer.
For pure entertainment value alone, let Jimmer time live on, please!
4. The core shoots poorly yet again.
By core, I mean Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson for the time being.
The foursome shot a measly 17-of-48 combined from the field (35 percent) which seems normal this early on in the preseason, but is something to keep an eye on.
Anthony Davis went 5-of-13 from the field (38 percent), which is a disappointing number for him if he aspires to take the leap into superstardom. I know it’s only one game, but Davis should be living in the 50 percent range routinely.
On a more positive note, Eric Gordon appeared to be attacking the rim and was rewarded with six made free throws on six attempts. This would be a sign that Gordon is feeling good and healthy which would be a welcomed sight for New Orleans.
Next up for the Pelicans is a matchup with the Houston Rockets next Tuesday.