The Pelicans need a wake-up call after a listless loss to the undermanned Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO – It’s just two losses. There are only four games this season.

Both statements are technically correct when analyzing the current state of the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans have a 2-2 record, which isn’t great considering their opponents, but it can certainly be worse. But anyone who denies that this team is doing poorly after the last two games hasn’t been paying attention.

After a 22-point loss to a recovering Portland team on Sunday, New Orleans put together another lethargic, sloppy performance on Tuesday night en route to a 124-106 loss to a Golden State Warriors team featuring Stephen Curry. Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton were missing.

New Orleans led by 20 points early in the second quarter and was somehow outscored by 38 points as it progressed. The last two games were not games that escaped us. They were direct defeats against teams that shouldn’t have been able to defeat their playoff rivals so easily.

“We need to have more control and balance,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “That wasn’t us tonight.”

It’s easy to look at the stats and find the source of this team’s problems: the 24 turnovers against Golden State. The 22 offensive rebounds were given up to Portland. He was outscored 105-51 from the 3-point line. General inconsistency from Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. And of course the ongoing injury problems.

All of it plays a role. But none of this addresses the larger issue.

After just four games this season, this team looks lifeless.

New Orleans doesn’t play with the physicality, precision or urgency of a group that understands the uphill battle facing a team hoping to make the Western Conference playoffs.

There will be many psychologists trying to figure out what caused the Pelicans to put out such a disappointing product early in the season.

Is it because they underestimate the importance of these games at the start of the season? Is it because they underestimate their opponents? Is it because they don’t believe in the head coach? Is it because they just don’t care?

In the end, none of it matters.

They’re trying to say the right things to stay united and still have plenty of time ahead of them to pull themselves together. And technically this is all true.

However, these words ring hollow when you consider that consistent betting continues to be a problem. When all the goals they set in the preseason seem to be a thing of the distant past. When such careless moves keep piling up.

The Pelicans need to look in the mirror and decide how they want this season to go. Having this conversation before Halloween seems absurd, but it’s the reality of where this team is.

Ultimately, New Orleans can come out of Wednesday’s rematch against Golden State and win by 30 points and it will feel like all the sins of the last two games have been washed away. But if any franchise knows the damage one or two bad losses can have in a season, it’s the Pelicans.

This is the same group that finished one game behind the teams that reached the Western Conference finals in each of the last two seasons. Last season saw several terrible defeats, team clashes and points gone for a team that still won 49 games.

If some of these bad losses turn into victories, New Orleans may avoid the play-in tournament. Maybe the Pelicans can rest their stars instead of putting so much strain on Williamson that he ends up straining his Achilles tendon just before the playoffs. Maybe they’ll be the team that shocks the world, not the Lakers in 2023 and the Mavericks in 2024.

In reality, great teams are not measured by how well they recover from turbulent times. It’s about how well they manage to avoid everything together.

The edges are thin. These games, which may seem insignificant to some in October, could make the difference in ensuring this group reaches its ultimate goal in April.

“It’s a long season,” Green said. “We understand what we need to correct. It’s just a matter of going out there and making it happen. We know that this is not our standard. We weren’t like that. There are times during the season when you have some difficulties.”

While it may be upsetting for many in the fan base to see the Pelicans squander these winnable games, it is unfair to ignore how much injuries have hurt what the team had hoped for at this point in the season.

After the team spent so much time in the preseason preparing for life with Dejounte Murray as their new point guard, he has already left one game this season with a broken hand. After the team laid out plans to dramatically increase the team’s 3-point production, sharpshooter Trey Murphy III suffered a hamstring injury in the first few days of training camp and remains sidelined. To make matters worse, Herb Jones was forced out in the second half of Tuesday’s loss after injuring his right shoulder diving for a loose ball.

This team’s inability to establish an identity early in the season is a major problem, but finding that place of security and reliability is difficult with some of the most indispensable players on the roster sidelined due to injury.

“Going into the season, we knew these were big pieces for us,” Ingram said. “We just have to find out now. Guys have to step up. I have to do more. (Williamson) needs to do more. Everyone needs to do a little more.”

Still, that doesn’t justify being defeated by two inferior teams in consecutive games.

At some point, pride has to come into play. If the people in the locker room want to get to the next level and go further than they did in their first three seasons under Green, those words have to match their play on the floor.

It would be a drastic overreaction to say that New Orleans can’t recover from these two losses or that Green isn’t the coach to lead the organization to playoff success based on the start of the season. But to act like it’s no big deal to sleepwalk through winnable games in October is to ignore the recent history and current strength of quality teams in the West.

Maybe the situation will change in the second leg against the Warriors on Wednesday. Maybe the Pelicans will play so well that fans’ fear will subside. Regardless, this team won’t be a serious contender in the West unless they bring a reasonable level of energy and attention to detail every night.

These are the bare minimum requirements for teams that want to be great.

“There is a high level of urgency, but don’t panic. “It’s more about a focused way of coming together as a team,” Williamson said of his team’s focus resulting from Tuesday’s loss. “I don’t think this is a reason to panic. We just have to hold on.”

Williamson’s words may be true in a week, but none of the players’ or coaching staff’s words should be taken seriously until they match the on-field performance.

(Photo by Javonte Green and Yves Missi: Cary Edmondson / Imagn Images)