Last Week: Beat/OT Boston Celtics 120-115, Beat Detroit Pistons 128-118, Lost to Milwaukee Bucks 129-125, Lost to San Antonio Spurs 117-114
This Week: 3/1 vs. Utah Jazz, 3/3 vs. Chicago Bulls, 3/4 vs. Miami Heat
Two wins and two losses for the New Orleans Pelicans is a pretty standard week. As the young team continues to establish chemistry under coach Stan Van Gundy, hovering around .500 is the most logical outcome. The way they got there this week, however, was anything but logical.
Against the Boston Celtics without Steven Adams, the Pelicans found themselves on the receiving end of a 25-point deficit in the second half. Then Zion Williamson (28 points, 10 rebounds) and Josh Hart (17 points, 10 rebounds) took over to propel them all the way back to win in overtime.
Williamson continued his juggernaut run against the Detroit Pistons, posting a line of 32 points, six rebounds, five assists and one block. This game was a pristine example of the new “Point Zion” offensive game plan that Stan Van Gundy has implemented and it is working. Over the last two weeks, the Pelicans are second in offensive rating in the entire league behind only the Dallas Mavericks.
The rest of the week turned from there. Facing the Milwaukee Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back, the Pelicans were still competitive (Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball shined) but the veteran team was just too much. Then against the San Antonio Spurs, the team as a whole played well but the 3-point shot failed them (28.1 percent). With Zion Williamson being named an All-Star this week, hopefully the Pelicans can ride that momentum to more wins.