New Orleans Pelicans: Alvin Gentry Loses It

There was 2:30 left.

The New Orleans Pelicans had carved into a gigantic Atlanta Hawks lead by roaring back in the second half behind a flurry of Anthony Davis free throws and rim runs, as well as some timely three-pointers. Ish Smith was darting around the floor like a jackrabbit. Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon had found their stroke. Hell, even Luke Babbitt was contributing off the bounce and — get this — he leaped off the ground a few times.

This was it. This was the game that was going to finally get this struggling team with a mountain of expectations off the shneid.

But then this happened:

In case you can’t tell, that Teague layup hit the pole that holds up the shot clock behind the backboard, which by rule should be out of bounds. Instead, the refs (who were under siege all night from Pelicans players) refrained from making the call, causing the Pelicans’ defense to hesitate. Being the heads up player that he is, Teague snatched the board and went straight into the body of Anthony Davis (whom was in foul trouble). The result was two points for Atlanta.

So, instead of the Pelicans getting the ball back with 2:22 left with a chance to make it a one possession game, they were down seven. But it wasn’t a normal seven. Their sails had been deflated. After expending so much energy to make it back into the game, having that kind of call go against them at that point can take the air right out of you. And that is exactly what happened.

Even the supremely chilled Alvin Gentry lost his cool like I have previously never seen before:

Such is life in the NBA when you are a desperate team trying to crawl out of an 0-and-5 hole. Things just never seem to break your way.

I am not going to pretend like last night’s game should give the fans a sense of optimism going forward. I generally was left unimpressed yet again. The defense has been sloppy or nonexistent and the offense — although high scoring — has countless wasted possessions where players are slumbering through sets because they are either not yet comfortable or confused. I am going to guess that it is some kind of mixture of both.

More from Hoops Habit

Defense is attributed to talent of course, but communication and effort are also important pillars to a strong defense. Too often communication/effort has not been apparent on this young season, resulting in easy rim runs or wide open threes for the opponent. It is difficult to win a basketball game when your defense is yielding a league-worst 112.6 points per 100 possessions. I don’t care how good AD and the offense is.

Here is some optimism for you, though. You have to figure that things are going to get better, right? This coaching staff is too good. Darren Erman eats and breathes defense and Alvin Gentry is an offensive wizard. People are starting to trickle back into the lineup, allowing everyone to eventually fall back into their normal roles.

Also, the Pelicans played hard last night in the second half. Five games into the season and they were looking like a desperate team vying for a playoff spot in April. If they are able to sustain that kind of effort for longer stretches of the game, they will be able to string some wins together.