Not long ago, New Orleans was in position to potentially earn homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs as a No. 4 seed, but a much more realistic goal now is to try to finish in the top six of the Western Conference standings. After Wednesday’s loss to Orlando, the Pelicans are no longer in complete control of their destiny to achieve that objective. New Orleans dropped to 1-4 on its longest homestand of the season, with all of those defeats coming against quality opponents. Late Wednesday, Phoenix led by a big margin at home vs. Cleveland, poised to tie the Pelicans in overall record and therefore move into sixth place, bumping NOLA down one spot to seventh.
THREE POINTS
Paint problems.
Whether it was Paolo Banchero (32 points) powering his way into the paint, or Moe Wagner catching entry passes near the rim and dropping the ball in for layups, Orlando did major damage from close range all Wednesday, making it tough on New Orleans’ interior defense. “They’re a big team,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said. “They got in the paint, got to the free throw line, made some shots.”
Absences felt.
On both ends of the floor, but particularly on offense, it’s evident the Pelicans are missing Brandon Ingram (knee) and Jose Alvarado (oblique) over a 3-4 stretch sans Ingram (and 1-3 with no Alvarado). New Orleans has increased the number of possessions that do not feature adequate ball movement, and when they need a bail-out bucket, they don’t have Ingram, perhaps their best option at beating the shot clock with a mid-range or deep jumper. The second unit is suffering with Alvarado not at the controls and sixth-man weapon Trey Murphy moved into the starting group to replace Ingram.
Bright spot off the bench.
After CJ McCollum’s 36 points, New Orleans’ second-leading scorer Wednesday surprisingly was Dyson Daniels, who was a factor at both ends in his third game since returning from a knee injury. Daniels supplied 16 points, highlighted by 4/5 three-point shooting, while notching two steals.
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BY THE NUMBERS
8: Players in Green’s rotation for much of the night during a much-needed game for the Pelicans. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl came on to play 12 minutes in the second half.
3: Pelicans players ejected in the final seven seconds of regulation due to technical fouls, a list that included Herb Jones, Murphy and Daniels.
67-50: Orlando scoring edge in the middle quarters, erasing what had been a two-point deficit through 12 minutes.