Pelicans vs. Warriors Reactions: The good, the bad and the Lonzo Ball
Pelicans #Pelicans
As become the case too often in recent seasons, the Pelicans no-showed for the majority of Monday’s must-win game against Golden State, falling 123-108.
Needing to close the gap between themselves and the Warriors in the playoff race, the Pelicans surrendered 39 first-quarter points, 17 of those to Steph Curry to fall behind big early. While they cut a 25-point lead down to six points in the third quarter, it was as close as they would get on the night.
Curry ensured the Warriors would pick up the big win with a huge night, pouring in 41 points on 14-of-26 shooting, torching virtually every defender in front of him.
On the other side, Zion Williamson was the only Pelican to answer the bell on the night, pouring in 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting. Brandon Ingram had 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting and Naji Marshall scored 12 points.
Curry is the frontrunner for the scoring title and is making a stronger and stronger case for MVP and showcased both aspects on Monday. Not only did he score 41 points, he added eight assists and four rebounds as well.
The gravity of him coming off screens away from the ball created multiple open looks for other Warriors players. And he used that gravity when on the ball to set up teammates all night as well.
He’s one of the greatest to ever play the game.
There is not one positive to take away from that game, save for Williamson’s performance. Every other Pelican no-showed in some form or fashion.
Naji Marshall is the only other Pelican who gets a pass as he looked like the only one ready to step up on the night. A total failure and embarrassment on the night.
Ball followed up the best night of his career with one of the worst. It was evident early that his shot wasn’t falling either from range or inside the arc. The end result was seven points on 3-of-18 shooting overall and 1-of-9 shooting from the 3-point line.
He did add eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals as well. On top of that, he was easily the best defender of Curry the Pelicans had on the night and did about as good a job as one can defending him.
The problem is, offensively, the Pelicans have no outside threat other than Ball. When his shot isn’t falling, their offense has no spacing. The team had five total 3-pointers on the night which is one game removed from hitting 14 against Minnesota, a game in which Ball had eight of them.
It was a bad shooting night for Ball and he’ll be the butt of jokes on Twitter, but he was still an overall positive contributor on the night.