What Went Wrong With Adjustments Against Warriors
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NEW ORLEANS- It is hard to excuse away giving up a 20-point lead even if it was against the defending champs on the second night of a back-to-back set. The Golden State Warriors were on the ropes at halftime but they improved to 31-8 at home this season. The New Orleans Pelicans let a shot at avoiding the NBA Play-In Tournament slip away.
New Orleans coughed up 17 turnovers and allowed the Warriors 11 offensive rebounds. The Pelicans had no answer for Kevin Looney, who kept finding an open Steph Curry. That's largely on the players no doubt. However, Willie Green's out-of-sorts rotations did the players no favors and the Pelicans got torched, losing the second half by 35 points.
The entire second half felt like a neverending surge from Steph Curry and Co. Klay Thompson's deep dagger with 1:39 remaining was the demoralizing final nail in the coffin for New Orleans. Thompson killed all hope and you could see it all the way down the bench.
Differing Approaches and Attitudes
It was a masterclass in matchup hunting, adjusting to personnel, and recognizing the moment. Steve Kerr changed up Golden State's starting lineup just before the game, swapping Kevin Looney for Jonathan Kuminga. The Warriors were calling this a must-win game for them to avoid the play-in and get extra rest.
The Pelicans shrugged all that off initially, stuck with their usual starting five, and had a 20-point lead 38 seconds before halftime. But most of that damage was done early. Looney came in at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter and really gave the Warriors a rebounding presence throughout the night.
The Pelicans kept a decent cushion but the Warriors never looked worried. They were making runs to keep things close enough. The champs remained cool under pressure.
Then Draymond Green got under some skin. It started with a flagrant foul on Brandon Ingram with 3:44 left in the second quarter. It ended with Kerr explaining after the game, “We looked dead those first 18 minutes of the game. We had to find some energy somewhere. I knew it wasn’t just going to come.”
New Orleans did not have an adequate response once Green got chest-to-chest with Ingram and they both received technical fouls. Herb Jones drew an offensive charging foul on Green at the 3:25 mark of the second quarter. Green followed by crawling (or kicking, depending on who you ask) all over Jones in the process of getting untangled underneath the basket.
Unless you count CJ McCollum's misguided shoulder charge for a flagrant foul about six minutes in that led to a five-point swing, New Orleans came out of the locker room lethargic to start the third quarter. Golden State came out with Green's energy. from the opening whistle. The 120-108 ending was all but inevitable after Golden State's 8-0 run to start the half.
Mar 28, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; New Orleans Pelicans small forward Brandon Ingram (14) controls the ball against Golden State Warriors center Draymond Green (23) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Predictable Offense Goes 0-4th Quarter
The Warriors went heavy on denying Ingram the ball, either with early traps if B.I. brought the ball up or intense face-guarding if he was trying to get to a certain spot. It did not help that Golden State got away with a lot of holding, slowing Ingram up and taking a toll all game. It showed up in the fourth quarter.
New Orleans killed 8-10 seconds per possession just trying to find the space to make a simple pass. The energy, execution, and "force" as Green likes to say just wasn't there. Neither were the points or shots for Ingram and McCollum.
The Pelicans went 9/14 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half. They finished 12/27 from deep with Trey Murphy III getting only 9 shots all night. McCollum was 0-5 with no assists in the final 12 minutes.
Ingram did not score a point in the fourth quarter, dishing out more assists (3) than shots (2). Murphy III only had 3 points. Josh Richardson led the way with 5 points and Naji Marshall had 4 points.
When the Pelicans went small with Larry Nance Jr., the Warriors funneled the Pelicans his way for some ill-advised three-pointers. Two possessions ended with Nance Jr. shooting from beyond the arc when his primary reason for being on the court is grabbing rebounds. In fact, Richardson, Marshall, and Nance Jr. (11) had more shots in the fourth than the Big Three of B.I., CJ, and Trigga Trey (9).
That was not by design. The coaching staff just does not seem to have a secondary plan and instead leans on Ingram and McCollum to figure things out. This is made more challenging when the roles and supporting cast are always changing. Teams are sagging off of everyone except Ingram, McCollum, and Murphy III. The space for them to operate is shrinking as the season goes on.
The focus on using Valanciunas to attract attention away from Ingram and McCollum was all but abandoned in the second half. Off-ball actions and movement went stagnant. And Golden State did not have to respect many shooting threats with Josh Richardson and Naji Marshall on the court together.
Trey Murphy III has been on the bench during close games far too often this season, not to mention this game. Murphy III's shooting is too crucial to keep on the bench for more than a couple of minutes. The second-year sensation should be able to log more minutes than the veterans.
Dyson Daniels and Naji Marshall only played approximately five minutes each in the second half. Richardson and Nance Jr. got the bulk of the reserve minutes. New Orleans kept Willy Hernangomez and Jaxson Hayes on the bench instead of trying a different look. It led to some tired legs on offense and some head-scratching substation patterns if the defense was a priority.
Mar 28, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; New Orleans Pelicans small forward Brandon Ingram (14) is held back referee Kevin Cutler (34) and Pelicans staff during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Pelicans Doubt Defensive Instincts
Green is still experimenting with this roster, learning with lineups to lean on, but it is a little late in the season to see if Brandon Ingram can give a team minutes as the five (center) to close out close games. Green threw out a small lineup hoping to play fast but the idea stalled out quickly.
Ingram was guarding Looney. Herb Jones and Josh Richardson were trying to corral Curry and Thompson. McCollum and Murphy III had weak-side help duties when not being pulled into pick-and-roll actions. This lineup was not used to these roles and could not grab a rebound. Ingram fouled Looney trying to box out and Nance Jr. checked back in. This experiment was also pretty predictable on offense.
It seemed an odd tactic considering the success Jones had as the five earlier this season. Going small is playing into Golden State's closing lineup strengths. It also meant too much thinking in new roles and not enough playing on instinct.
New Orleans is just 1-16 against teams that currently have a winning record since Zion Williamson went down on January 2. The Pelicans have the toughest remaining schedule and will play as underdogs for the rest of the season unless some teams start resting players.
They have to play to their identity to make a postseason appearance. There was plenty of time to experiment earlier in the season.
Specifically, Willie Green has got to start getting the adjustments right, and sooner, or the best-case scenario will be the same as last season: Win an elimination game or two then avoid a first-round series sweep in a way that earns the franchise a bit more respect.
Then the offseason evaluations will get kicked into gear. The big question: Can this coaching staff grind out wins when it matters most? Right now, it can be argued the front office needs more of a sample size with a full roster.
Once Williamson is back though, the conversation changes. The team's strategy cannot be so reliant on the All-Stars to figure things out on the fly.
Read More Pelicans Scoop Articles:
- Coach Green Comments On Team's Body Language
- CJ McCollum Career At A Crossroads
- Pelicans Playing Out Regular Season As Underdogs
- NBA Championship Formula Revisited
- Willie Green's Rotations Need More Time To Build Rhythm
- Herb Jones As Center Unlocks Options For Pelicans
- Lineups To Lean On And Learn From These Last 2 Weeks
