The New Orleans Pelicans’ 2023-2024 season is on the brink of being over. After falling short in the first two games to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the playoff series shifted to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. With a chance to make things interesting from now on, the Pelicans could not respond to the offensive arsenal that the Thunder currently present. The Thunder would pull away with a 106-85 victory over the Pelicans and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series—Here are our key takeaways from Saturday’s matchup.
Lu Dort’s Domination of Brandon Ingram Continues
Since the start of the series, Lu Dort has been on the winning end of his matchup with Brandon Ingram. In the game three, the results were the same. Dort finished the day by scoring 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting. He came up big throughout the game with four three-pointers that would add to the Thunder’s lead. However, his most significant impact was on the defensive side, as he once again frustrated Ingram and other Pelican players. Dort’s stingy efforts on defense would allow Ingram to only score 19 points on 7 of 14 shooting attempts. If the Pelicans want to get back into the series, head coach Willie Green must devise a better plan for generating offense without Dort having a significant impact.
Lack of Perimeter Defense
On the Perimeter, the Thunder had their way with the Pelicans. They finished the day by connecting on 17 of 36 three-point attempts. Whenever New Orleans attempted to shift the momentum in Saturday’s game, a three-point shot by the Thunder would quickly take it back. During the regular season, New Orleans was ranked high in many defensive categories, but regarding the playoffs, they are far from those ratings. Coach Green has yet to devise an effective solution to the Thunder’s relentless approach on offense.
Death by Turnover
New Orleans continues to struggle in the turnover battle against OKC. In game three, it was the same result. The Pelicans turned the ball over 21 times, which led to the Thunder producing 23 points.
Key Players Continue to Struggle
Everyone knew that the Pelicans would struggle to a certain extent without the presence of Zion Williamson. However, there was an expectation that the Pelicans would have enough firepower from players such as Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Trey Murphy to have a competitive series with the Thunder. Based on the results after three games, the Pelicans feel the void Williamson left behind. In Saturday’s loss to OKC, New Orleans experienced another dismal outing in the scoring department. The Pelicans shot 28.1% (9 of 32) from the three-point range compared to the Thunder’s 47.2. CJ McCollum, a player with the most postseason experience out of the entire Pelicans roster, struggled to find his rhythm. He finished the game with only 16 points on 7 of 22 shooting. His teammate Trey Murphy only scored 10 points, and two of his five three-point attempts were made.
What Lies Ahead?
The next game in the Pelicans versus Thunder NBA playoff series will be on Monday at the Smoothie King Center for game four. The matchup will be the last stand for the Pelicans as they attempt to bounce back from the previous three defeats. No team has ever recovered from being down 3-0 in an NBA playoff series. Based on the optics, it will remain that way unless better adjustment by the Pelicans is made.
