NBA in Threes: Fighting in Philly; Arcade-style basketball in Washington
By Jade Johnson
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors
Both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Golden State Warriors were looking for their first win of the season in this matchup. Besides being winless, the teams had another, that’s not what you want, stat in common. They were at the bottom of the league in points allowed thus far. The Pelicans with 126 and GSW with 130. Ouch.
The Pelicans have struggled since starting their season without rookie Zion Williamson. With Williamson at the beginning of his 6 to 8-week recovery, the game against the Warriors looked like it might be one where the Pelicans could get their first tick in the win column.
Golden State is a team struggling to build a new identity with more than half of their roster being new. The culture of the organization hasn’t changed and it’s silly to think that the returning members of the team didn’t bring their championship pedigree with them from Oracle Arena. But for the first time in years, the Warriors are underdogs in the league and especially the Western Conference.
At the end of the day, this game was going to come down to who wanted it more and the Warriors answered in a way that left no room for doubt. The Warriors scored the first basket and held a 17-8 lead at the 5:00 minute mark of the first quarter. A nice turn around for a team who had played 96 minutes of basketball in the season and lead for exactly zero seconds. The defensive intensity was obvious early on. This is an adjustment that comes as no surprise to me.
We’ve all heard the adage that defense leads to offense and that seemed to be the case for Golden State. They shot 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range and you have to like the improvement from their 32 and 15 shooting against OKC.
When it comes to the Pelicans, the idea that Zion Williamson would make them a playoff team is maybe just a little bit too much, too soon. Outside of E’Twaun Moore, Jrue Holiday, Derrick Favours and J.J. Redick, no one on the active roster has more than four years experience in the league. And while four years might be plenty for guys who have played on winning teams, for New Orleans, that’s just not the case. Zion or no, New Orleans fans should mix in a little patience with their hopes for the Pelicans’ season.