The New Orleans Pelicans (45-29) are officially in a dogfight after laying another egg in a playoff-caliber tuneup at Smoothie King Center on Saturday. The Boston Celtics ended a two-game slide with a 104-92 road win and the Pelicans woke up on Easter just two games above the NBA Play-In Tournament line. The problems exposed during this homestand start with a lack of intensity to start the second half and a lack of adjustment by Willie Green.
The Pelicans' nightmare postseason scenario is starting to take shape. The Dallas Mavericks (44-29) are a half-game behind New Orleans and Luka Doncic's squad has the eighth-easiest remaining schedule. The Phoenix Suns (43-31) are two games behind the Pelicans but the teams face off twice during the first week of April. Willie Green's group could see their lead in the standings evaporate just like Saturday's double-digit lead over the Celtics.
Zion Williamson does not want to entertain excuses. The two-time All-Star has been leading from the front recently, and he called out the locker room‘s most glaring problem after losing two of the past three home games.
“It goes back to what I said in the past few press conferences: They upped their intensity and we did not match it,” Williamson admitted. “When we started to match it, the game was out of hand at that point. It just shows what type of team (the Celtics) are. They are a great team…They can switch one through five especially when they have the starting unit out there. They don't really have a pigeon you can pick on…”
The Celtics played to their strengths and pressured the Pelicans in a way Williamson and company did not handle well.
“You could see it from where we were starting our offense from,” Williamson shared. “We were starting our offense near half-court versus starting closer to the three-point line. Them making that small adjustment of applying pressure higher up, it changes the offense. We're not getting the shots we want, just forcing up shots.”
Williamson might be having fun, but the Pelicans are trying to change negative perceptions. The team has to find answers for their lackadaisical spurts or any postseason experience will be short-lived.
Pelicans lack intensity, fail to execute vs. Celtics
The Pelicans were not so much outplayed as they were outworked and out-coached. New Orleans was up by as many as 11 points and led for all but the last shot in the first half. Larry Nance Jr. had a layup attempt blocked by Kristaps Porzingis with five seconds left in the second quarter. Jrue Holiday assisted a Derrick White buzzer-beating three-pointer and Boston had the two-point lead at the break.
Perhaps Green needs to return to trusting Jonas Valanciunas, but schematics were not the top priority needing to be addressed. Williamson does not have playoff experience yet but he wasn't left wondering what happened against the Celtics, either. New Orleans' lack of defensive effort and offensive execution was obvious to the 23-year-old.
“The coaches talked to us about when we start the third quarter, starting it faster with more momentum. We started slow and they didn't,” Williamson said. “You know, it's not even about intensity. It's about making basketball reads. We became stagnant. They didn't…But that's basketball. It's a game of runs but at halftime, it was a one- or two-point game. There is nothing to go into halftime worried about. In that third quarter, we started slow and they didn't.”
Green's staff warned the Pelicans that Boston would come out of the half swinging for knockout blows. They lost the third quarter 24-11, taking another defeat at the hands of an NBA Finals contender on the chin. New Orleans might not be a lottery-bound tomato can, but they've done nothing to prove they'll be anything more than a gatekeeper in a playoff slugfest.
Next up is the Suns (April 1), a rematch against the Orlando Magic (April 3) and a date with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs (April 5). The Pelicans must win at least two games to finish their six-game homestand at 3-3 and above the play-in tournament line. Losing two more home games would ensure they finish the season with a better road record than home. It would also give the Suns and Mavericks a chance to slip ahead of New Orleans in the race for a top-six seed in the Western Conference.
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