The New Orleans Pelicans never really stood a chance against the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks on the road, losing 127-112 on Wednesday. Here was the good, the bad and the Ball from the game.
The Good: The Bucks
With a win on Wednesday, the Bucks are still tied for the best record in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. While having the reigning league MVP on their team certainly hasn’t made their season hard, the team’s front office also did a good job of keeping the core pieces together in the offseason and replacing the hole left by Malcolm Brogdon.
If the Bucks aren’t in the NBA Finals next year, it would be genuinely surprising.
The Bad: The Pelicans
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Pelicans hold the second-worst record in the Western Conference and the fourth-worst record in the NBA. It’s not so much that the players themselves are bad — it has more to do with the fact that they’re not particularly deep and head coach Alvin Gentry hasn’t been able to find which lineups maximize the talent he does have.
The season may already be lost, but there’s still plenty for the organization to figure out throughout the rest of the season.
The Ball
Lonzo Ball ended his night with with six points on 22.2% from the field, six assists and five rebounds per game. Suffice to say, he’s had better nights. However, he did manage to poke away a game-high four steals.
Ball and the Pelicans will look to bounce back against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.