The road trip for the New Orleans Pelicans was enjoyable, but it ended poorly. Before blowing a seven-point lead in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter to lose 125-120 to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, New Orleans had won three of their previous four games. In the last 17.7 seconds, the Pelicans had two opportunities to tie the game, but they were unsuccessful both times.
New Orleans will host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night for its first home game in a span of twelve days following its inability to end its road trip with a victory. Following practice on Tuesday, Pelicans coach Willie Green remarked, “It was a solid road trip.” “On Monday, though, we all felt that we ought to have prevailed as we exited the building. Being at home again feels fantastic.” Wednesday night marks the start of the second half of the season for New Orleans, which has won seven of its previous ten games. The Pelicans’ center/forward, Larry Nance Jr., stated, “We let one get away. We intended to go 4-1 (on the road trip).” “Seven victories in ten games, or 3-2, is fantastic, but why not 8-2, 9-1, or 10-0?” Before losing 125-113 to Denver and splitting two games with the Mavericks, New Orleans started the trip with victories over Sacramento and Golden State by a combined 69 points. “The first game back is always a trap game when you’re gone for 10 days and five games,” explained Green. “We want to bring that into the first game after a really strong practice.” The Pelicans are now 12-9 on the road this season after winning eight of their last ten road games. 12-8 is the score in New Orleans. Nance remarked, “That’s not how things should be.” The Pelicans begin a four-game homestand against Charlotte on this day. “From a broad perspective, I believe we are in a solid position,” stated Green.
The Hornets have dropped 16 of their last 17 games and are stuck in a five-game losing streak. The Charlotte guard, Terry Rozier, stated, “It’s tough.” “You detest dropping these games so much. You feel that we should win because you put in so much labor. However, that is the current state of the league. It’s quite difficult to win. All we need to do is take small steps, and we shall succeed.” Although Charlotte only managed 31 points in the first half of their 104-87 loss to Miami on Sunday, Hornets coach Steve Clifford stated that defense would be the team’s main priority during practice leading up to the team’s last three-game road trip matchup against New Orleans. Prior to the defeat by the Heat, the Hornets had given up an average of 125.7 points in their previous three games. “The issue is that we haven’t performed at the same level of defense as we did, and we need to return to that,” Clifford stated. In this league, that is the trick. That’s just how things generally work. A week of this and a week of that is planned.” Rozier proposed that the team get together as a players-only group to “sort things out.” “Even with the current state of affairs, we are not that far behind a play-in tournament position,” Rozier continued. We can turn things around if we win the next three. As a squad, we simply need to have that belief and put in the work.”
