Pelicans Coach Willie Green 'Disappointed' After Blowout Loss to Celtics

New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green expressed his disappointment with the team's blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday

Oct 27, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green reacts during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans were down superstar forward Zion Williamson against the visiting Boston Celtics on Monday, and it couldn’t have been more apparent as the home team suffered a substantial 122-90 loss in what was a near wire-to-wire effort in victory for the Celtics. 

The Pelicans shot an abysmal 28-of-84 (33.3 percent) from the field in the loss and made just 9-of-36 (25 percent) of attempts from 3-point range. Rookie Jeremiah Fears made his first appearance in the starting lineup amidst Williamson’s absence but was a game-low -31, while Jordan Poole led the team with 22 points on an inconsistent 5-of-14 shooting. 

New Orleans is now winless is its first three games to start the season, with two of those losses coming at home. Coach Willie Green expressed his disappointment with Monday’s outcome following the game and criticized his team’s effort.

"Disappointed... It's one thing to not win a game. It's a whole other thing to get punked on your home floor. I'm a part of that. Its not just our guys, its all of us"

-- Willie Green on tonight's loss pic.twitter.com/sh3fjPNQDS

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) October 28, 2025

“'I’m disappointed,” Green said. “Disappointed in how we approach the game. I'm disappointed in just the lack of toughness on the floor more than anything. That's the part that's difficult. It's one thing not to win a game. It's a whole other thing to get punked on your home floor. 

“I'm a part of that. It's not just our guys. It's all of us. And so tomorrow is something we'll talk about, something we'll continue to stress and continue to try to move forward and be better.”

Lack of Toughness

Green also criticized his team’s toughness and lack of fight after the game, suggesting they need to take more pride in how they approach each contest.

"They just took the fight to us. They were a tougher team. Mentally tougher than we were. Physically tougher... We gotta take more pride in how we approach the game"

-- Willie Green on tonight's performance pic.twitter.com/714C1JTA4m

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) October 28, 2025

“They just took the fight to us,” Green said. “They were a tougher team. Mentally tougher than we were, physically tougher than we were. This is something that we have to get back to the drawing board and we have to come out and be a tougher team.  Tonight on our home floor, like I told our guys, all of us, we’ve got to take more pride in how we approach the game.”

The Pelicans will continue their quest for their maiden win this season against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in Denver on Thursday, with tip-off for that game scheduled for an 8 p.m. Central start time. 

The hope is that Williamson’s absence on Monday was largely for rest and load management purposes and that he’ll be able to return for Wednesday’s contest, which is the start of a three-game road trip for New Orleans and a stretch of six road games out of seven games total.