Three points from the New Orleans Pelicans ’131-126 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
1. Steven Adams scored 4 points, and was probably a Pelicans MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the greatest drivers in NBA history. In three of the last four seasons, he has led the league in points in the paint. He is long, strong and non-stop. Basically, only hope against it is a defense against closing lines to the basket and forcing jerseys to take with them. In the first half of Friday’s game, that’s exactly what Steven Adams and the Pelicans did.
At halftime, Antetokounmpo had picked up 10 hits; seven of them were jump pictures. He had nine points at the break, a sub-par half by his standards.
“That guy is a really good player,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Steven competed and did a great job. Late in the game, I thought our defense spread too much. We didn’t help Steven enough going to the basket. Early in the game, I thought Steven played it well and we had the defense inside. ”
Antetokounmpo still got 38, but the Pelicans delayed early enough to secure the win. Adams had made as much of an impact on a four-point game as an NBA player can have. He pulled down 20 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive end.
“It’s useless,” said Eric Bledsoe. “He and Zion are on the tables, they’re useless. I think he ‘s lying every time he loses the ball, honestly, he works so hard down there. I’m glad he’s on our team. “
The Pelicans are picking up 54.9% of the available rebounds with Adams on the floor this season. They are fourth in offensive rebounding percentage and second in defensive rebounding percentage. They rely heavily on their 27-year-old base, and their brutal strength sometimes obscures the craft in his game.
“There are some points in the game where I feel like Steven is just catching every rebound,” Zion Williamson said. “It’s just impressive. He has a high IQ for the game, so at the same time it’s no surprise. ”
2. Raining 3s
At times during their recent road trip, the Pelicans struggled to generate a healthy amount of 3-point shots. In those six games, they tried more than 30 times just once. The situation got particularly awful in a back loss in Utah, when New Orleans attempted 26 and 25 3s.
In three games since then, the Pelicans have tried 33, 43 and 48 3s. That has led them to jump from 28th to 24th in 3-point attempts per game.
Lonel Ball and Eric Bledsoe, Pelicans starters in the back court, shot 14 of 27 from distance. They made seven aps, taking advantage of their team’s side-by-side movement and the attention Milwaukee paid to New Orleans drivers, most notably Williamson.
“It’s great to have that member movement,” said Williamson, who has seven senior positions. “Everyone picked up the ball. Everyone is feeling for it. It reassures everyone on the offensive end, which translates to defensive end. ”
Bledsoe lays down 41.4% of his 3-point attempts on the year. A ball is also starting to come around. He hit three 3s in the first half Wednesday before kicking off the game early with a tweaked ankle. Two nights later, his ability to send the floor to New Orleans helped him get the most out of the still-young season.
Ball said he has been trying to get his body more square to the basket when he fires.
“It’s felt good,” said Ball. “It’s just about staying aggressive and staying true to the work I’ve put in. I knew it was going to turn around fast or slow. ”
3. Van Gundy changes mountain rotation
Van Gundy chose not to use two of his regular rotation players, JJ Redick and Jaxson Hayes. The veterans head coach later said he chose not to join Redick who was struggling because his starting back court was playing so well. He also explained that he decided to join Nicolo Melli instead of Hayes to give some space.
“Against a really good defensive team who really protect the paint, we had to spread the floor out a bit,” Van Gundy said.
Melli 1 of 3 went off the floor. It looked grim, although it was able to turn a buzzer-beating 3 at the end of the third quarter.
Redick received a rare DNP-CD. The team said he was not dealing with any serious injuries. The 15-year-old veteran, who is shooting below 30% off speed this season, got just the night off.
“I didn’t expect to play JJ,” Van Gundy said. “Both Lonzo and Bled went on. We didn’t go very deep into the bench. JJ will be back soon. ”