The New Orleans Pelicans face the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night with both teams looking to reverse their recent struggles and keep their NBA Cup hopes alive.
The West Group B matchup comes 11 days after New Orleans edged Memphis 135-134 in overtime. Both teams opened group play with losses and need a victory to remain in contention for the knockout stage.
New Orleans enters the contest after struggling on the defensive end during its four-game losing streak. The Pelicans surrendered 139 points to the Los Angeles Clippers, 138 to the Golden State Warriors and 145 to the Brooklyn Nets in their three most recent outings.
The losses have been particularly frustrating for New Orleans coach Jamahl Mosley, who was hired in part because of his reputation for building strong defensive teams in Orlando.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Mosley said. “That’s three games in a row of 130-plus (points allowed). It’s a combination of a lot of things: Our will and our want to defend at a high level, night in and night out; my job as the coach to get them prepared; and then the ability to stay tied together when things don’t go our way.”
New Orleans’ 145-111 loss to the Nets on Wednesday came two nights after the franchise’s worst regular-season defeat, a 138-87 setback against the Warriors.
Zion Williamson scored 29 points against Brooklyn, while Saddiq Bey added 15. New Orleans allowed the Nets to shoot 57% from the field and 48.8% (20 of 41) from 3-point range.
After the game, Williamson challenged the team to take responsibility for its recent performances.
“As a unit,” Williamson said, “players, coaches, everybody, we have to look in the mirror when you’re by yourself and ask, ‘Did I do everything I need to do for my team?’ It starts internally.”
Memphis has also hit a rough stretch after an encouraging start. The Grizzlies opened the season with six consecutive victories but have since lost four of five, including Wednesday’s 123-118 home defeat against the Denver Nuggets. Memphis fell behind by 13 at halftime and trailed by as many as 18 before mounting a late comeback.
Ty Jerome and Jaylen Wells scored 22 points apiece against the Nuggets. Cedric Coward recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds, while rookie Cam Boozer added 13 points and 11 boards. Jerome has scored at least 20 points in five straight games.
Memphis came within two points in the closing minute, but Denver answered with a decisive basket and held on. Jerome said the team’s slow start was more damaging than the late rally could overcome.
“It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, we could’ve done this, we could’ve done that,'” Jerome said. “The real issue was how we played in the first half.”
Memphis trailed throughout the entire first half on Wednesday, and Jerome said the Grizzlies need to bring greater energy from the opening tip moving forward.
“It feels like half the games we play, we’re down 15 in the first or second quarter,” Jerome said. “I told the guys after the game, ‘We have to play hard from the jump. Shots can fall or shots can not fall, but we can’t play soft and slow. We’re never going to beat teams like that.'”
