Sunday night saw the New Orleans Pelicans start a new era, as it was the team’s first game under interim head coach James Borrego. The Pelicans put up a good effort, but the Golden State Warriors came out on fire, and while New Orleans fought, it was a tough lead to overcome, resulting in a 124-106 loss to the Pels. In the first quarter, the Warriors set a season record for most points in a quarter with 44 points, and Moses Moody had 21 points and was 7/8 from three.
While the box score may tell you that the coaching change hasn’t changed much, the eye test says otherwise. Coming out of the gate, there was a lot more energy and a big emphasis on getting out of the backcourt and running in transition. Whenever the Warriors scored, there was no pause for the Pelicans in getting the ball in – they immediately tried to move the ball back up the court and get on the offensive early in the shot clock.
Defensively, I thought the adjustments in the game were much clearer than with Willie Green. For example, early in the second quarter the Warriors easily got into the paint and scored, so what did Borrego do? He switched the team to a zone defense and packed the paint. This led to the Pelicans holding the Warriors scoreless for over three minutes.
Another big change tonight was that other guys got a chance. The Pelicans have two very talented contract players in Bryce McGowens and Trey Alexander, but when Willie Green was in charge, they never got a chance to come off the bench. Tonight the entire team struggled to get things going offensively, so Borrego decided to switch up and move away from the team’s regular rotation by McGowens runs away a bit.
Tonight may not have been the result the team wanted, but the future looks bright.
When you have two young pillars like Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, playing with pace and speed becomes your friend. And that of Borrego understanding of that is crucial for the future of this organization.
One of the most important responsibilities of a head coach is creating an identity that your team plays with every night. This was something Borrego recognized at the time speaking to the media next practice Saturday and will be something he works on for the rest of this season.
The playoffs may still be a gamble for this year’s Pelicans, but the decision to acquire Willie Green and hand the reins to James Borrego already seems like the right move – even just one game into this new chapter.
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