The New Orleans Pelicans’ past three games have been among the worst stretches in franchise history.
Ahead of Friday night’s NBA Cup game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Pelicans have lost four straight games, with the last three coming by double-digit margins.
In the three blowouts, the Pelicans have allowed 422 total points and have lost by a combined margin of 101 points, including a 51-point massacre by the Golden State Warriors.
This set a new record for the largest margin of defeat in a New Orleans Pelicans regular season game.
The Pelicans were riding a four-game winning streak just a week ago, so why have the wheels fallen off so abruptly?
Defensive Disaster
During the Pelicans’ four-game winning streak, it seemed as if the team had finally gotten on board with Jamahl Mosley’s defensive ideas, as during that span the Pelicans saw significant defensive improvement.
But since the Pelicans’ 116-109 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it has been all downhill, as in the Pelicans’ Wednesday night loss to the 2-8 Brooklyn Nets, Mosley’s team allowed 83 points at halftime.
For an NBA head coach, let alone a defensive-minded head coach, this is abysmal.
“That’s three games in a row of 130-plus,” Mosley said following the loss to Brooklyn. “It’s a combination of a lot of things. Our will and our want to defend at a high level, night in and night out. It’s my job as a coach to get them prepared.”
This stretch has caused the Pelicans’ defensive rating to plummet to 26th in the league and has caused unrest within the organization.
Buy-in is Fading
With the NBA season spanning 82 games, naturally teams will experience highs and lows. Good teams find ways to stick together during the lows and fight their way out; that is not the case in New Orleans. In every game during this losing streak, there has been some form of disinterest.
When the Warriors were pouring it on the Pelicans, second-year center Derik Queen left the bench and strolled around the court, seemingly frustrated. Then, during the matchup with the Nets, rumors spread that guard Dejounte Murray had some explicit words for Coach Mosley after he nailed a three. Sticking with Murray in the game versus Brooklyn, there were a handful of instances when he seemed uninterested in the outcome.
With a very tough schedule ahead, if the Pelicans cannot figure it out defensively or get each player to buy in, a high lottery pick is inevitable.
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