Last week: Lost at Brooklyn 135-125, lost to Toronto 122-104, won at Charlotte 115-110
This week: Monday vs. Houston, Thursday vs. Clippers, Saturday at Miami, Sunday vs. Golden State
The New Orleans Pelicans snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday night, getting their first road win of the season at Charlotte, but still were just 1-2 last week.
That is despite the continued strong play of Brandon Ingram. The restricted free agent to be averaged 30.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 in 34.7 minutes per game last week, shooting 57.4 percent overall and going 7-for-17 from deep.
That included a career-high 40 points in Monday’s loss at Brooklyn, a game in which the Nets were helpless to stop his mid-range and penetration attacks. Ingram is 11th in the NBA in scoring at 25.9 points per game and is in position to make himself a lot of cash next summer in what appears to be a very weak free-agent market.
Last week: Beat San Antonio 108-100, lost to Chicago 113-93, lost to Sacramento 121-109, lost at Portland 124-113 (OT)
This week: Tuesday at Denver, Thursday at Phoenix, Saturday at Clippers, Sunday at Lakers
The Atlanta Hawks have lost three in a row and six of their last seven, losing by double-digits in overtime Sunday night (not an easy thing to do) at Portland to open a five-game Western sojourn.
Atlanta won its first game without suspended forward John Collins, beating the Spurs, but it’s gone sideways quickly since. Jabari Parker has been a bright spot, taking Collins’ spot in the starting lineup and averaging 22.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game, shooting 58.2 percent overall while making just 3-of-18 from deep.
Trae Young had a big game against the Kings despite the loss, scoring 30 points with 12 assists and five steals in 40 minutes, hitting 12-of-22 overall, but was only 3-for-10 from deep and committed five turnovers.
This week could be brutal for the short-handed Hawks, who are still without Evan Turner and haven’t had Chandler Parsons or Allen Crabbe yet, with Denver, wildly improved Phoenix and the two L.A. clubs on the docket.
Last week: Beat Detroit 115-99, lost at Indiana 121-106, lost to Cleveland 113-100
This week: Wednesday at Boston, Friday at Minnesota, Sunday at Orlando
Whatever momentum the Washington Wizards gained with their first home-court win of the season Monday against the Pistons was flushed by losing to the Cavaliers to fall to 1-3 at Capital One Arena. This week, they will take their 1-3 road record on a winding journey through Boston, Minnesota and Orlando.
Thomas Bryant continues his solid play, averaging 19.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.4 minutes per game last week, shooting 63.9 percent overall and hitting 2-of-7 from deep. His free throw shooting was solid as well; a nice 9-for-11 clip.
Bryant continues to show the Wizards made the right move giving him a three-year, $25 million deal as a free agent last summer, putting up 14.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks in 30.1 minutes a night so far this season, while shooting 52.3 percent overall. The 3-point stroke isn’t quite there at just 26.1 percent (6-for-23).
But he’s still extremely effective in the restricted area, dropping 75.8 percent of his attempts inside of three feet this season. His outing was one of the bright spots in the loss to Cleveland, with 23 points, eight board and four assists on 11-of-16 shooting.