Strange things happen in the NBA. There are countless funky plays and weird inexplicable decisions. It’s early, but the Pelicans are responsible for one that I can’t stop thinking about. It happened during the first quarter of New Orleans’s loss at Utah on Friday night, when Jordan Poole, Zion Williamson, Derik Queen, Saddiq Bey, and Bennedict Mathurin all shared the floor. You read that right. These five players were purposefully instructed to work together, as in, be on the court at the same time. It was remarkable. It was bewildering. It was a basketball lineup that could not possibly be less complementary on offense or ineffective on defense. I like to rewatch horror movies that still disturb me on every viewing; similarly, I am desperate to see this again. 

I'm back with another dose of that sweet, sweet copium.

It has been done; we're still in contention

(Re-upload to fix blending issue)

I have basically been a lifelong Pelicans fan since I was 7 in 2012. This was because my family was big UK fans, and my introduction to basketball was Anthony Davis. The Pelicans are how I fell in love with basketball, I still have found memories of the Davis and Holiday Pelicans. Jrue gave me my favorite archetype to this day.

When we traded them to Milwake and LA and built a new team, I was really hopeful. The furthest we made it since then was a first round sweep. Zion is a bust. The team can't finish a game. Our defense, even though noticeably better, is still bad, but it's still super early in the season, so I have hope.

That all being said, I have made up my mind, I don't think I will ever stop being a Pelicans fan. I have no ties to the city, but my fondest basketball memories are tied to this team. They may be ass but they're our ass.

My wife's a real housewives fan and I normally zone out but I look up, see this, made her pause it.

We are 0-3, BUT, there are some positives in the doom and gloom.

First of all, despite being three games down already, our point differential is -3.3, which is better than every other team with a losing record so far, except for the Spurs.

Second, those three close losses include the Nuggets and Pacers, both somewhat recent finals teams, two road games, and an OT loss on the second half of a back-to-back.

Third, despite two road games and a tough b2b, we have a top ten offence (currently 7th in the league).

Am I approaching LD50 copium? Yes, absolutely. But it's real to me, dammit!

Go Pels

Zion is making big shots, DJM has been balling, Trey finally had a good game, SADDIQ BEY, Mathurin playing good. We have the pieces. We are so close.

Poole +22.8

Herb +13.5

Karlo +12.9

Bey +12.3

Queen +12.0

Zion +11.4

Deandre -2.1

DJM -4.7

Trey -5.7

Fears -14.4

Mathurin -15.1

Missi -15.2

Pelicans thru 3 games are getting outscored in the 4th by a total of 34 points. Zion and the rest of the team are the biggest choke and most unclutch players I’ve ever seen.

Anyone remember a team that can chokes away games like the pels?

Starting 0-3 is obviously not ideal, but I still definitely have hope for this squad. I think we are one of the deepest teams in the whole league. We just need to be able to play a whole game.

Bad beat, and even worse having to experience it in person. I think we have great pieces to build with, but no clear first option. We're also still struggling to close out games, which I think stems from bad coaching. Personally, I think it's time to move on from Zion and build a trade package for another first option around the league. Two horrible turnovers at the end of the game gave them the opportunity to push it to overtime. Hey, at least New Orleans sports is causing a hike in alcohol sales. Cheers.

This loss to Denver is unfortunately such a fitting example of the pelicans experience. It is difficult to fathom how you can consistently play 3 solid quarters of ball, just to totally forget how to defend, rebound, and take care of the basketball.

One would like to imagine that the fourth quarter would be when a team would play their best ball - running crunch time sets/actions on offense to keep things moving and generate non-iso looks, running at guys/trapping on defense to get the ball out of opponents’ best players’ hands, boxing out, not turning the ball over- all seem like simple things an NBA team should be expected to be doing.

Alas, the Pels season is truly upon us, and it seems that we are in for more of the same. Worst part is that I am fully aware of this, and I will be equally upset when things play out the exact same way next game.

What the hell happens to the offense at the end of games?

How can we play 3 quarters of great, free flowing offense, with so many assists and then just turn into straight iso ball in the clutch? It doesn’t matter who is bringing the ball up the floor, they just don’t pass it. There were 3 straight possessions in the 4th between dejounte and fears where the ball did not touch another pair of hands! And if someone does figure out they should pass the ball it’s not until there’s 10 seconds on the shot clock!

WHY ARE YOU PLAYING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BRAND OF OFFENSE THAN THE LAST 40 MINUTES???

And how does it happen every single game? And that’s ignoring the fact that they turn it over half the time anyway! The biggest problem is that the team genuinely just forgets how they played for literally the entire game and completely stops playing as a team. I just don’t understand.

The second this team makes me think they'll do something they just remind me again why I don't have much faith in them

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Every game, I sleep early so that I can wake up and watch the pelicans. Every game, I'm filled with hope with how we play, AND EVERY FUCKING GAME, OUR TEAM BLOWS IT IN THE 4TH

Dumars, you are a genius when it comes destroying fans spirit.

I genuinely cannot believe these first 3 games....

I know it’s only three games, but Jesus, what the fuck? Up 23 and somehow we still find a way to lose.
I get it’s the second game of a back-to-back, but you have to finish. Especially against good teams. You don’t get credit for playing well for stretches if you can’t put together four quarters and close the damn game.
The most frustrating part is that no lead ever feels safe. It feels like other teams know that no matter how far down they are, we’ll give them a chance to get back in it. And once it gets to crunch time, I have zero confidence we’re coming out with the win.
These dudes cannot close a game to save their lives. I can handle losing, but watching a 23-point lead turn into another “how the hell did we lose that?” is exhausting.
Anybody else already tired of this shit?

We're getting torched in the 4th quarter while choosing to keep a 1st team all defense player on the bench. DeAndre Jordan it's playing 20 minutes a game now. We have no offensive plays. Zion is uninvolved. Rotations make no sense. What is even going on?