The Pelicans have put the direct. They are one of the fittest teams in the NBA (?fittest right now?) and are crushing everyone who appears in their path. Willie Green, a rookie coach who started the season with many problems, he’s building a defense from hell and has definitely balanced his rotation with the arrival of CJ McCollum. Playing like this (124-90 in the destruction of the Utah Jazz) it’s easier not to hear about Zion Williamson: his foot, his weight, his problems and his endless absence. Playing like this, the Pelicans look like a playoff team. And there they are: 27-36, in an unstoppable flood and already halfway through the Lakers in absolute decomposition. Those from Louisiana are tenth (with two games over eleventh, the first without play in) and the 9th Angelenos. That would be a duel in the playoffs right now, with home court advantage for whoever is ahead and a lot of morbidity with all the tidal wave of the transfer of Anthony Davis in which these two franchises got involved.
So here’s a story for the final stretch of this regular season. Well yes: the Pelicans, after losing four games out of five with the hangover of the closing market, They have come out of the All Star break like rockets: 102-117 in Phoenix, 95-123 on the Lakers track, 125-95 to the Kings and 124-90 to the Jazz. It is the first team in history above +100 in point difference in their first four games after the All Star. There had been three above +90 and two were champions… and the third Conference finalist. The Jazz, who had regained their pulse in February and had 9 wins in 10 games, were burned, overwhelmed, dejected from the initial jump. And they remain at 39-23, the Mavs closer behind than the Grizzlies ahead.
The Pelicans, with a huge Brandon Ingram and two triples by Tony Snell, won the first quarter 35-17 with two runs of 10-0 and 9-0. They led 58-28 in just over 19 minutes and 86-49 after the halfway point of the third quarter. the beating was thunderous. The normally luminous attack of the Jazz was totally strangled: at halftime (65-38) Quin Snyder’s men were 32% shooting with 4/20 on three-pointers. They ended up at a measly 35%. Donovan Mitchell had 14 points on 5/18 shooting, Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Bogdan Bogdnovic and Mike Conley combined 2/29 shooting. The Jazz didn’t know what to do against the feverish defense of the Pelicans, led by a rookie, Herb Jones, who is being talked about less than he should. In addition, Ingram finished with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and McCollum with 24+5+4. Willy Hernangómez played well off the bench (13 + 8 in 24 minutes) and, for the Jazz, his brother Juancho was on court for seven minutes (2 points, 1 assist).
THUNDER 101-TIMBERWOLVES 138
Another beating: the Wolves overcame starting in the second quarter (partial 26-45) of a Thunder without Lu Dort or Josh Giddey. Without more support than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33 points, 7 assists, five games in a row with at least 29 points) and, this time, Isaiah Roby (21 + 10). There was no history: 20 points and 8 rebounds from Towns, 20+5 with 8/8 shooting from Naz Reid, 17+7 assists from D’Angelo Russell, 17 points from Jaden McDaniels, 15 from Beasley, 18 from Prince… Without Anthony Edwards, the Wolves scored at will: 54% shooting, 47% 3-point shooting with a whopping 22/47. They have three wins in a row and in them they average more than 131 points. At 35-29, they are seventh in a West in which the Thunder are penultimate (20-43).
SUNS 115-KNICKS 114
Tremendous finish in Arizona. The Suns, without Chris Paul or Devin Booker, put another nail in the coffin of the remaining Knicks at 25-38, closer to teams that tank like the Pacers that from the tenth place in the East, who already have five and a half games. The play in It is a distant dream for a team that always ends up shooting itself in the foot. In Phoenix, and against such a diminished rival, they made merits to win and then threw all their effort in the trash. With the expulsion of Julius Randle (he had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists) and with a lousy fourth quarter (partial 34-21) in which they lost a thousand times: they missed transcendental free throws and shot 81-95 and 104-109 with two minutes to go. In the end, and after Mitchell Robinson (17+15 with 4 steals and 3 blocks) scraped a couple of baskets under the rim, the game was 112-113 with two free throws for Burks and 7 seconds to play. Burks only scored one and Cam Johnson gave the Suns the win with a desperate 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Johnson played a formidable game: 38 points, 21 in the fourth quarter (the same as all the Knicks). And a 9/12 in triples with which he corrected all the limitations of his equipment. With the not always stable activity of Payne (17 points, 16 assists) and the points of Bridges first (20) and Crowder later (14), the Suns saved a game they had lost and are now 51-12, with eight games ahead of the Warriors before traveling to Milwaukee to play for the first time on the court where they definitively lost the last final.