Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
The New Orleans Pelicans have been embarrassed for two straight games this week. The first one came Monday at home in a 122-90 loss to the Boston Celtics. The second one came Wednesday night, a 122-88 point beatdown by the Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans are 0-4 on this young season to start the Joe Dumars era and have lost nine games in a row dating back to last season. "Pretty much we are a team right now that has to dig down and find our identity," said Pelicans’ head coach Green. "We have to believe in each other. That’s first. The first order of business is you’ve got to compete harder, play harder, play more together and the belief has to be there.” The Pels have done none of that this week. As a result, Green’s seat is hotter than it’s ever been after his team got outscored 29-2 to start the third quarter and 39-11 by the time the quarter ended Wednesday night. “They are an elite team," Green said. "Once they punch you, you’ve got to punch back. Tonight we didn’t. No response in the second half and that’s the difference in the game.” For four straight games to start the season, the Pelicans have had a lull at some point that has ended up costing them. The Pelicans (0-4) are one of three winless teams in the NBA, joining the Indiana Pacers and the Brooklyn Nets. Getting win No. 1 won’t be easy on the remainder of this three-game road trip. The Pelicans play the Los Angeles Clippers (2-2) Friday night and conclude the trip Sunday afternoon against the Oklahoma City Thunder, last season’s NBA champions. Rookie Jeremiah Fears got very little help in Wednesday’s debacle in Denver. Fears made 10 of his 15 shots and finished with a team-high 21 points and 6 assists. "He was the bright spot tonight," Green said. "But he’s been playing like that with toughness and getting downhill and connecting with his teammates." Fears’ big night came just two days after he struggled against Boston with a 1-for-11 shooting night and just two points. He bounced back Wednesday. “Just continuing to show them why they should trust me and doing everything I can to try to help my team win,” Fears said. Fears didn’t get much help from the rest of the starting lineup. His 21 points were almost as many as the rest of the starting lineup combined. Zion Williamson (11), Trey Murphy (7), Herb Jones (5) and DeAndre Jordan (2) combined to score just 25 points. Yves Missi (10 points) came off the bench and was the only player other than Fears and Williamson to reach double figures. Williamson didn’t record a single rebound on a night the Pels were outrebounded 56-36. It was the second game in his career that he didn't get a rebound. The first time was as a rookie when he was on a minutes restriction in a game against the Utah Jazz played in the bubble. Murphy and Jones shot a combined 3-for-15 from the floor as the Pelicans lost in Denver for the fifth straight time. Now the Pelicans will try to get a win against the Clippers. The Pels have won seven of their last 10 games against the Clippers, including four of the past five in Los Angeles. “Once we get that first win, we’re going to get rolling,” Fears said. “We just have to keep trusting in each other and believing.”
