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The New Orleans Pelicans could waste no time with any pats on the back following a 3-1 road trip. Sure, Willie Green’s group was coming back to the Smoothie King Center for a six-game homestand. The teams coming to town all have postseason aspirations, or in the San Antonio Spurs’ case, Victor Wembanyama. The Pelicans let a golden opportunity slip away against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, so the third-year coach wanted his team to ‘err on the side of being aggressive’ versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
It paid off in a 107-100 win in which Zion Williamson and company were able to hold off Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks. Williamson’s ‘fun’ observation on playoff tuneup games was also confirmed. He led the Pelicans to a much-needed win with 28 points, five rebounds and two assists, keeping the team in fifth place and on pace with the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth.
Chalk another win up to defense, too, as New Orleans held Milwaukee well below their season average by using an aggressive scheme to get Lillard and Antetokounmpo uncomfortable late in the game. It was exactly the blitzing response Green wanted to see from a roster playing under championship pressure for the first time.
“Late game situation against Oklahoma, Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) comes off to his left hand very similar (to Lillard)…There’s a pick-and-roll, it’s a little confusion with Larry (Nance Jr.) and Herb (Jones). Still good defensive play, he hits a big shot. We wanted to err on the side of being aggressive and that’s the thought that went behind that,” he said.
Leave it up to Herb Jones to lead the charge when it comes to on-the-edge aggressiveness during the most pivotal moments. Williamson may be the offensive headliner but when it comes to defensive direction, he defers to the NBA First Team All-Defense candidate.
“I got to give Herb all of the credit on that one,” Williamson said. “I’m talking about, as (Lillard) is bringing the ball up the court Herb goes, ‘Hey we are about to blitz him on this one.’ I was going to kind of turn around and ask the coaches ‘Are we blitzing?’ but the way he said it I was like, ‘You know what, let’s blitz him.'”
Pelicans correct mistakes to beat title contender
Thursday’s was a mirror image of the Thunder loss. Oklahoma City was up by as much as 20 points before clawing back from a five-point deficit in New Orleans. The Pelicans had an 18-point lead in the first half against Milwaukee, but a Lillard three-pointer brought the Bucks to within five with just over five minutes remaining. It was a growth moment for the Pelicans, who need every kind of stress test available before the postseason begins.
That is just one reason Green will ‘continue to explore’ new lineup pairings. The Pelicans do not have much experience in clutch situations. They are one of only three teams with fewer than 100 clutch minutes played all season, per NBA.com/stats.
The front office will learn a lot about this roster during the playoffs. There will be wounds to lick, no doubt. That’s always the case for even eventual champions. It’s how often those wounds are reopened that will determine their fate.
CJ McCollum has learned those playoff lessons the hard way throughout his career, but the 11-year veteran believes in this team’s chances. Why? The aggressive, defensive-minded approach Green has been stressing all year.
Next up for New Orleans is the Boston Celtics, who have lost two straight to the Atlanta Hawks. A win over the Celtics paired with a Los Angeles Clippers loss to the Orlando Magic put the Pelicans back in the driver’s seat for fourth-place and home-court advantage in the first round. But a win is a win, and every victory should be celebrated for a few moments—even the ugly ones.
McCollum brushed off the subpar 8-of-32 night from three-point range by the team, making a bold statement during an NBA TV postgame interview.
“The law of averages says you’re not gonna win many games with eight threes,” he said. “But if you strap up the way we strap up, you give yourself a chance to win games.”
That’s a pretty aggressive statement, but fitting for a team finally looking to hit the postseason healthy.
More must-reads:
- Juwan Howard returning to NBA as Eastern Conference assistant
- Pelicans' Zion Williamson could return during playoffs
- The 'Most points in a playoff game by team' quiz
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