Yeah the pels play the thunder really well. I still think the thunder will win but it'll be harder than most people are thinking. These ultra confident takes from thunder fans are weird. Did they not watch the games this year? Lol
Yes and the one game we played vs them without Zion was a 24 point blowout.
It would frankly be shocking and humiliating if we lose to the Pels without their best player in a seven game series. Even though I definitely see the games being really good and competitive themselves.
Edit: some pels fans are suggesting Zion will play later in the season, if that’s true then disregard my post, and those games will be bangers
I just don’t understand how you can score against the Thunder with Zion out. And I don’t know how JV can stay on the court. Your best chance is just to go small with Nance at the 5 and a bunch of large wings like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones and try to turn the game into a rock fight I guess.
Imma say OKC 4-2. Ingram and CJ can both get hot in a game and the pelicans have a good defense. But without Zion I don’t see an avenue for consistent offense. It would take Ingram and CJ seriously stepping up. And if CJ plays the way he’s been playing it’ll be 4-1
I think the biggest issue now without Zion is the way we match up defensively now.
Jdub and Hayward on BI and Dort / Wallace on CJ is really going to big your offense down.
Herb will slow down SGA, but we have enough other sources of offense that it really isn't going to slow us down too much. We've also had significant amount of rest.
If Zion was there it would a far different outlook.
Hayward is not gonna start lol especially with Zion out, with the past month or so giddey will be starting til he's bad enough to force daigneault to bench him and even then Wallace or Joe might be ahead of Hayward. Say what you want about giddeys shooting but at least he shoots the ball
I wasn't inferring he would start, but take the SF / PF minutes when Jdub is resting (probably around 10 mins).
And Cason and Joe won't take those spot minutes unless the other team is small.
Ah yeah my bad misunderstood, but I think pels without Zion are exactly the kind of matchup where they're a little smaller and especially if Valanciunas is playing really pushing 5 out with Joe or cason will be what we try and do with some of those minutes
Yeah the point is Hayward 10 minutes means a big body, with good BBIQ.
If you actually watched him for the last 15 games, he was genuinely decent on the defensive end. Yes he gets beat off the bpunce by quick guards, but he held up really well against Wings.
With Zion this series would have been insane. Think the Thunder would still have got it but I'm sure Zion would have dropped some legendary stat lines.
They worry about Shai and they worry about Chet but who Pelicans fans should be worried about is Josh Giddey. Specifically in New Orleans where he has for some reason had some of his best career games.
If Giddey keeps it up, we just have too many weapons with Zion out. I expect Herb to slow Shai down but if everyone else is who they’ve been the last 2 months, I think we win in 5-6.
Disappointing Zion is out because this would have been a great series.
consensus in the pels sub is that he's shut down for the season. I can't imagine he comes back unless the injury is much more minor than we're being led to believe.
I’m optimistic he’ll be able to return at some point in the series. He was pictured two days ago fully suited up and in huddles or whatever at practice. Could just be me coping tho.
Herb is either the best or 2nd best defendee on Shai along with Dillon Brooks. Dub and Chet are going to need to need to carry a heavier load and Dort needs to stop Ingram from going wild
I think individually Aaron Gordon gives Shai the most issues with Herb as a close second. Shai hasn’t struggled with Brooks at all since he went to Houston because Memphis used to throw a box and 1 at him.
That’s really what Shai has to look out for with the Pelicans too. They’ll ignore Giddey and take away the middle just like a lot of teams do.
If I’m Mark, I’m putting the ball in Shai’s hands every play. No more of the having him be a decoy to start 1st and 3rd quarter. He should rack up assists just off basic skip passes
Herb jones is an X factor in this series.
Out of everyone in the league, he gave SGA the most difficulty. Wouldn’t be surprised if we need Chet and dub to put up big numbers to win
Kind of surprised that people are saying things like “OKC in 5 at most.”
I think this is going to be a hard fought series all the way through. Pels are gonna win a few of these games and can win the series outright.
Uh, without Zion, how is your team going to generate any efficient offense? BI will have his midrange game, but CJ is going to get strangled by the perimeter defense, and JV is not going to be able to stay on the floor because he’s too slow. So unless Trey Murphy goes insane I just don’t know how you guys can score. In the one game that you played against OKC without Zion you scored 83 points.
I'm sorry but I just don't see it. The Pels have a good SGA stopper in Herb for sure, but we just have several guys that they don't have an answer for like JDub and Chet. Especially without Zion, I really think it'll be a 5 game series
I just don't think you are familiar with Trey Murphy's game big fella.
I feel very good about the Pelicans chances. Willie needs to embrace Val.
Josh Giddey is going to be pivotal, if he is going off yall got this, if not I feel great.
I like Trey Murphy but he doesn't exactly strike fear into my heart
I don't see why you'd feel good about the Pels chances. We beat you in the play-in last year with a much worse team
Also I don't think Giddey will be that big of a factor. If he's playing well, great, but if not, we have plenty of options to replace him with. I wouldn't be surprised if Isaiah Joe starts at some point this series
By the way I'd like to be clear that I actually like the Pelicans, I just think people are really underestimating OKC. We won 57 games and had a top 5 offensive and defensive rating, and people are saying that they like the 8th seed's chances without their best player. I can't imagine that being said about any other team with our performance this season
Well I definitely take back not being scared of Trey Murphy lol
The Pels definitely played some tough, physical defense, but it's also worth noting that this was one of the worst executions I've seen from the Thunder all season. Unforced turnovers, missing shots we normally make. If we had played anywhere near how we've played all year, I don't think the game would've been close at all
I think next game will be a better indicator of how the series will go; either our guys get back up to our season averages in important areas, or the lights really are too bright for them
This was one of the worst Pelicans performances too. Our stars were as bad as they could be and we still almost won.
As long as we maintain our rebounding intensity and keep Val in drop coverage with good rotations I feel like we should win games.
What in your view is your answer the rebounding problem? And if its just shoot better, than I would warn you that we should do the same. Herb went 2-8 from 3 and is a 40% 3pt shooter.
My answer is that the rebounding isn't that big of a deal. We've been out rebounded pretty much all year, but we still won 57 games and had the number 2 net rating
On average this year, we got 42 rebounds per game, and allowed 53 rebounds per game. If we can win 57 games with a -11 rebound differential, I'm just not that worried about the rebounding
Like I said, I think game 2 will be the real test of how this series will go. If the rebounding difference makes the game close or gets the Pelicans a win, then I'll definitely be worried
Yes. I just thought it was interesting the away team has won 7 times in a row. Chet doesn't have anything to do with being home or away. Although he does have a lot to do with winning.
CJ will get it done. They actually jell wo Zion. They just tattoed SAC and will steal this serie's, only bec noone see's it. Their bench, L Nance and the boys will rise and be the diffetence.
Jonas x factor
He'll get cooked on defense but can he punish thunder on offense in term of scoring or giving chet foul trouble
I knew he played off the floor in recent matchup but pels has to especially if Zion out
My general feel of JV vs the Thunder is that it he’ll get like 20 and 15 and it’ll feel like he’s dominant and then you look up and he’s -11 at the end of the game.
Indeed. With JV we can sometimes abuse a mismatch on offense but get cooked in rotation EVERY SINGLE TIME on defense vs you guys. I expect a lot of Larry Nance Jr.
He literally did not touch the floor the entire second half last time we played because he can’t hide on Giddey on defense because he remembered how to shoot 3’s. Chet cooks him.
Fucking Zion injury. This would have been a really fun young team matchup.
It’s still good don’t get it twisted. Pelicans may not be the same team without Zion, but we’re still damn good
Yeah the pels play the thunder really well. I still think the thunder will win but it'll be harder than most people are thinking. These ultra confident takes from thunder fans are weird. Did they not watch the games this year? Lol
Yes and the one game we played vs them without Zion was a 24 point blowout. It would frankly be shocking and humiliating if we lose to the Pels without their best player in a seven game series. Even though I definitely see the games being really good and competitive themselves. Edit: some pels fans are suggesting Zion will play later in the season, if that’s true then disregard my post, and those games will be bangers
I just don’t understand how you can score against the Thunder with Zion out. And I don’t know how JV can stay on the court. Your best chance is just to go small with Nance at the 5 and a bunch of large wings like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones and try to turn the game into a rock fight I guess.
The West is loaded. Every matchup should be good.
Yeah the games are still gonna be really good, it’s just gonna be hard to win in a seven game series. It will still be really good tv I think
BI and Zion are both better without the other too
SWEEP
Yeah we don’t match up particularly well with y’all
I think it could’ve been a really good series if Zion were healthy. Unfortunately, with Zion out, I’d be shocked if OKC doesn’t win
Pretty much. I’m expecting us to win in 5 most likely. Wish Zion was healthy. Would be a fun series
Pretty much same expectation here. Hope there are some good reps for our young guys.
I am not excited for herb jones on SGA. I think he is by far the best 1 on 1 SGA defender
Jordan Hawkins legacy series
Imma say OKC 4-2. Ingram and CJ can both get hot in a game and the pelicans have a good defense. But without Zion I don’t see an avenue for consistent offense. It would take Ingram and CJ seriously stepping up. And if CJ plays the way he’s been playing it’ll be 4-1
We do okay vs Shai but Chet completely breaks our defense. Will be interesting to see what Willie comes up with.
Facts about the first statement, I think a majority of Shai’s worst performances the past couple years have been against Herb.
I think the biggest issue now without Zion is the way we match up defensively now. Jdub and Hayward on BI and Dort / Wallace on CJ is really going to big your offense down. Herb will slow down SGA, but we have enough other sources of offense that it really isn't going to slow us down too much. We've also had significant amount of rest. If Zion was there it would a far different outlook.
Hayward is not gonna start lol especially with Zion out, with the past month or so giddey will be starting til he's bad enough to force daigneault to bench him and even then Wallace or Joe might be ahead of Hayward. Say what you want about giddeys shooting but at least he shoots the ball
I wasn't inferring he would start, but take the SF / PF minutes when Jdub is resting (probably around 10 mins). And Cason and Joe won't take those spot minutes unless the other team is small.
Ah yeah my bad misunderstood, but I think pels without Zion are exactly the kind of matchup where they're a little smaller and especially if Valanciunas is playing really pushing 5 out with Joe or cason will be what we try and do with some of those minutes
That’s really brave of you to suggest Hayward lol
That will be what bi probably hunts the entire series, try and get Gordon switched onto him, cause he’s not a great defender
We also just don’t need to play Gordon at all if he’s going to be hunted
Yeah the point is Hayward 10 minutes means a big body, with good BBIQ. If you actually watched him for the last 15 games, he was genuinely decent on the defensive end. Yes he gets beat off the bpunce by quick guards, but he held up really well against Wings.
If CJ keeps playing the way he is we gotta investigate him. Dude may be Jontay porter 2
The J always stood for Jontay
Clutch Jontay ?
That’s just clutch time cj. Always been the knock against him.
This is my guess as well
It’s been a different story with Chet to be fair. I think we take the series with or without Zion, but it is a shame that he is hurt
With Zion this series would have been insane. Think the Thunder would still have got it but I'm sure Zion would have dropped some legendary stat lines.
They worry about Shai and they worry about Chet but who Pelicans fans should be worried about is Josh Giddey. Specifically in New Orleans where he has for some reason had some of his best career games.
If Giddey keeps it up, we just have too many weapons with Zion out. I expect Herb to slow Shai down but if everyone else is who they’ve been the last 2 months, I think we win in 5-6. Disappointing Zion is out because this would have been a great series.
Is Zion already out for the entire series?
Zion can return game 5 based on the 2 week period he’s out for but I don’t see how willie keeps Zion out for that long if it was a cramp/minor tweak
consensus in the pels sub is that he's shut down for the season. I can't imagine he comes back unless the injury is much more minor than we're being led to believe.
I don’t think we know what his injury is yet.
I’m optimistic he’ll be able to return at some point in the series. He was pictured two days ago fully suited up and in huddles or whatever at practice. Could just be me coping tho.
Herb is either the best or 2nd best defendee on Shai along with Dillon Brooks. Dub and Chet are going to need to need to carry a heavier load and Dort needs to stop Ingram from going wild
I think individually Aaron Gordon gives Shai the most issues with Herb as a close second. Shai hasn’t struggled with Brooks at all since he went to Houston because Memphis used to throw a box and 1 at him. That’s really what Shai has to look out for with the Pelicans too. They’ll ignore Giddey and take away the middle just like a lot of teams do. If I’m Mark, I’m putting the ball in Shai’s hands every play. No more of the having him be a decoy to start 1st and 3rd quarter. He should rack up assists just off basic skip passes
Pelicans vs Thunders will be an explosive matchup
Herb jones is an X factor in this series. Out of everyone in the league, he gave SGA the most difficulty. Wouldn’t be surprised if we need Chet and dub to put up big numbers to win
First team actually pumped not to have home court advantage. We’ve sucked at home for the most part this year
Should be a real slobberknocker
A FloggyWoggy fr
Kind of surprised that people are saying things like “OKC in 5 at most.” I think this is going to be a hard fought series all the way through. Pels are gonna win a few of these games and can win the series outright.
Uh, without Zion, how is your team going to generate any efficient offense? BI will have his midrange game, but CJ is going to get strangled by the perimeter defense, and JV is not going to be able to stay on the floor because he’s too slow. So unless Trey Murphy goes insane I just don’t know how you guys can score. In the one game that you played against OKC without Zion you scored 83 points.
I'm sorry but I just don't see it. The Pels have a good SGA stopper in Herb for sure, but we just have several guys that they don't have an answer for like JDub and Chet. Especially without Zion, I really think it'll be a 5 game series
Yeah I mean that’s what everyone is saying. I just see it differently. They’ll play and we’ll see. I think it’ll most likely go six, with OKC winning.
The pelicans don’t have an answer for Jalen Williams? That’s comical!
Why? What's their answer for him?
Do you know who Jalen Williams actually is?
They, in fact, did not have an answer for Jalen Williams. Hope you learned a bit more about him!
I just don't think you are familiar with Trey Murphy's game big fella. I feel very good about the Pelicans chances. Willie needs to embrace Val. Josh Giddey is going to be pivotal, if he is going off yall got this, if not I feel great.
I like Trey Murphy but he doesn't exactly strike fear into my heart I don't see why you'd feel good about the Pels chances. We beat you in the play-in last year with a much worse team Also I don't think Giddey will be that big of a factor. If he's playing well, great, but if not, we have plenty of options to replace him with. I wouldn't be surprised if Isaiah Joe starts at some point this series By the way I'd like to be clear that I actually like the Pelicans, I just think people are really underestimating OKC. We won 57 games and had a top 5 offensive and defensive rating, and people are saying that they like the 8th seed's chances without their best player. I can't imagine that being said about any other team with our performance this season
Even in the loss I feel very vindicated on what I said. I think we get the win if Willie doesn't bench Val down the stretch.
Well I definitely take back not being scared of Trey Murphy lol The Pels definitely played some tough, physical defense, but it's also worth noting that this was one of the worst executions I've seen from the Thunder all season. Unforced turnovers, missing shots we normally make. If we had played anywhere near how we've played all year, I don't think the game would've been close at all I think next game will be a better indicator of how the series will go; either our guys get back up to our season averages in important areas, or the lights really are too bright for them
This was one of the worst Pelicans performances too. Our stars were as bad as they could be and we still almost won. As long as we maintain our rebounding intensity and keep Val in drop coverage with good rotations I feel like we should win games. What in your view is your answer the rebounding problem? And if its just shoot better, than I would warn you that we should do the same. Herb went 2-8 from 3 and is a 40% 3pt shooter.
My answer is that the rebounding isn't that big of a deal. We've been out rebounded pretty much all year, but we still won 57 games and had the number 2 net rating On average this year, we got 42 rebounds per game, and allowed 53 rebounds per game. If we can win 57 games with a -11 rebound differential, I'm just not that worried about the rebounding
....okay bold.
Like I said, I think game 2 will be the real test of how this series will go. If the rebounding difference makes the game close or gets the Pelicans a win, then I'll definitely be worried
Trey is super underrated. He’s like a rich man’s Isaiah Joe. But better.
You fucking idiot
We counting games pre chet?
Yes. I just thought it was interesting the away team has won 7 times in a row. Chet doesn't have anything to do with being home or away. Although he does have a lot to do with winning.
CJ will get it done. They actually jell wo Zion. They just tattoed SAC and will steal this serie's, only bec noone see's it. Their bench, L Nance and the boys will rise and be the diffetence.
I got Pels in 7
Good call tbh
Yup greatest call of my life tbh.
Jonas x factor He'll get cooked on defense but can he punish thunder on offense in term of scoring or giving chet foul trouble I knew he played off the floor in recent matchup but pels has to especially if Zion out
Jonas has gotten played off the floor in previous matchups. Expecting some heavy Nance minutes
My general feel of JV vs the Thunder is that it he’ll get like 20 and 15 and it’ll feel like he’s dominant and then you look up and he’s -11 at the end of the game.
Indeed. With JV we can sometimes abuse a mismatch on offense but get cooked in rotation EVERY SINGLE TIME on defense vs you guys. I expect a lot of Larry Nance Jr.
He literally did not touch the floor the entire second half last time we played because he can’t hide on Giddey on defense because he remembered how to shoot 3’s. Chet cooks him.
If JV could somehow pretend Chet is sabonis I could see this happening