Game 62: Utah Jazz (39-22) @ New Orleans Pelicans (26-36)

Post #1 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Fri Mar 4, 2022 1:19 pm

Should be a W, but we sometimes tend to drop the ball against the Pelicans, especially if Ingram is having a good game. I wonder how CJ McCollum is going to mesh with their core.

Post #2 » by **FJS** » Fri Mar 4, 2022 1:52 pm

We have to take care. They won at Phoenix by 15, at Los Angeles by 28 (yes the lakers sucks, but they have won us 2 times this year) and by 30 vs Kings in a Row.
Valanciunas always give some trouble vs Gobert, altough they have added Hayes to starters and maybe Rudy has to deffend him when Jonas goes to 3pt and change it to Bojan.

Crunch 99 · Post #3 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Mar 4, 2022 2:49 pm

Expected lineups as of 8am:
https://www.rotowire.com/basketball/nba-lineups.php

Crunch 99 · Post #4 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Mar 4, 2022 3:07 pm

With CJ McCollum at lead guard, the New Orleans Pelicans' offense is rolling
https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/article_9be113fa-9b09-11ec-a36f-3b7c4d7b4e40.html

Catchall · Post #5 » by **Catchall** » Fri Mar 4, 2022 3:14 pm

The Pels are an interesting team. They play two centers really in JV and Hayes. When the Jazz beat the Pels the last time, Ingram had a really bad game, but he's been playing much better recently. Herb Jones is a good defender on the perimeter.

Jazz are deeper and have more talent, but the Pels will make the Jazz earn it.

Post #6 » by **FJS** » Sat Mar 5, 2022 9:11 am

Tough loss.
They played deffense, and we forgot how to execute.

Post #7 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Sat Mar 5, 2022 10:53 am

What the H did I just not watch (glad I didn't bother with this game)? How did we lose to the Pels by 34?

Crunch 99 · Post #8 » by **Crunch 99** » Sat Mar 5, 2022 1:47 pm

The Jazz were already down near 30 points late in the first half when I tuned in. I only watched and listened to the game sporadically after that, but did hear announcers talking about the Pelicans size and length really bothering the Jazz. The Pels had 11 steals.

Also, as the article I posted above says, the Pelicans' offense is rolling with CJ McCollum as the lead guard. The Pelicans started out losing three of four with McCollum, but since they benched starting PG Graham, made McCollum the starting PG and added starting PF Hayes in place of Graham, they've won four of five while averaging 121.4 ppg. And they've outrebounded opponents by10 rebs/game, though they didn't outrebound the Jazz.

Seems to me that Philly and New Orleans are the two most improved teams coming off trades and the All Star break, though the argument for calling the Pelicans a seriously improved team is less certain at this point than the argument is for Philly.

Catchall · Post #9 » by **Catchall** » Sun Mar 6, 2022 3:11 am

The Jazz didn't have much energy all night. It was an off night across the board with missed jumpers, missed layups and missed defensive rotations. That said, the Pels played extremely hard and played very well. Ingram was automatic on his jumpers, and he shot over Royce and House like they were practice coaches.

The Pels surrounded Mitchell with three guys all at least 6'8" on every drive to take away his finishes and his passing angles. It was Herb Jones, Jaxson Hayes and Valanciunas all converging on him. The Jazz weren't prepared for this scheme and would need to prep better if they were ever to meet up with the Pels again.