New Orleans Pelicans: Youth, Inexperience Exposed

Everyone knew it was going to go this way for the New Orleans Pelicans. The series would be 2-0 after going through pleasantries of playing at The Oracle, otherwise known as the place you want to take your significant other when they tell you about their day at work.

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What?

*Complementary points to their ear and shrugs.

I can’t hear you, the crowd is just waaaaaayyyyy too loud.

The Pelicans noticeably came out with some postseason jitters that were just too difficult to overcome in Game 1. Anthony Davis didn’t figure things out until the fourth quarter, where he exploded for 20 points and an alley-oop dunk that owned the Internet for a short period of time.

All of that was a nice cute story. Monty Williams had to watch Game 1 and realize that Omer Asik must be ditched for his team to have a chance in this series. I am not suggesting a complete ditching, more like a 10- to 12-minute limit.

Instead, hybrid players such as Dante Cunningham or Quincy Pondexter (!!!) should play at the 4 spot while Davis does his best to patrol the painted area and bang on the boards with the likes of Andrew Bogut.

Playing the Warriors straight up simply is not enough for the poor Pellies as their talent is not in the same stratosphere. To counteract the talent imbalance, it is going to take a gimmick to find success. The ultimate five man rotation will look something like this: Jrue Holiday (if healthy)/Norris Cole, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Ryan Anderson and Davis.

Those five are on the court for at least 42 minutes apiece during Game 3 if I were Monty.

The spacing could get a bit murky with Cole and and Evans on the floor at the same time, but Cole has proven to be a reliable outside figure with the postseason balls to make some big shots.

Anderson’s mere presence on the court in comparison to Asik will give Davis ample room to operate in the post, which is crucial because he does not yet have a go-to move when he sets up at the elbow despite a pull up (more on this later).

Defensively, Game 1 was a mess for the Pelicans as their rotations were nonexistent and players (even Davis) were flailing at the ball rather than moving their feet to recover. Maybe the sharpshooters of the Warriors were the cause of this, but there is no excuse that justifies allowing numerous unprotected rim runs that eventually come back to bite you later on.

Game 2 was a slight improvement on that end as the players looked more engaged. The rotations were a bit more crisp and Golden State came out cold as a result. There really is no way to stop this Warriors machine, you can only hope to contain it.

One way to try and accomplish containment goes back to the hybrid lineups that I mentioned earlier. Playing either Cunningham or Pondexter at the 4 (or even Anderson if he is feeling frisky enough on defense) presents the opportunity to switch on pick and rolls with less difficulty.

Even if Cunningham or Davis were to get isolated with Stephen Curry, that should be considered a win for the Pelicans. An isolation takes the Warriors out of what they want to do on offense (lots of motion, screens) and stagnates them a little bit.

Ideally, you would rather Klay Thompson be the isolating ball handler, but those sequences are few and far between when Curry is on the floor.

Ultimately, the death of New Orleans’ chances in this series came down to their inability to get a quality shot within the final minutes of game two.

Within one point with five minutes left, there was real potential for the Pellies to steal a victory tilt the series slightly into their favor. Unfortunately, rather than keeping their composure and making the most out of every possession, the offense went into hyper speed and inefficient shot selection was the outcome.

Draymond Green did everything short of take Davis’ jock strap and and run with it the other way with that sly grin of his. He forced Davis into taking awkward, out of control shots that had no chance of tickling the twine.

Davis never gets in proper position to shoot the ball and tries to do too much too quickly. An unneeded shoulder shimmy that was supposed to be a pump fake doesn’t fool Green in the slightest, forcing Davis to barrel into his chest and throw up a wild shot from a funky angle. This exact kind of play was a staple in Davis’ rookie season.

More times than not, you would rather Davis control his posture and take the open jump shot that was initially open after the pass.

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I assume that Davis is aware of these shortcomings and will adjust accordingly. His team was in prime position to win a playoff game in the league’s toughest arena. Emotions can run high. He will learn.

Same goes for the entire young nucleus and their coach. This is their first playoff experience and even the best players need time to adjust to the ramped up intensity. Especially when the opposing team is one of the best regular season teams we have seen in recent memory.

Each game that the Pelicans survives equates to more experience. Just because they may be failing on the court in terms of wins and losses does not mean that they are still passing the postseason test placed upon them with flying colors. As a Pelicans fan, all you can ask for is for this team to play competitively and perhaps even steal a game or two.

As a casual NBA fan, I can ask for is more a never-ending flurry of moments where Curry and Davis trade blows like two heavyweights.

So far, this series has checked both of those boxes with emphasis.

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