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The New Orleans Pelicans spoiled Carmelo Anthony’s debut with the Portland Trail Blazers, beating the Trail Blazers 115-104 for their fifth win of the season. Here was the good, the bad and the Ball from Tuesday’s game.
The Good: The Starters
The Pelicans got their leading scorer Brandon Ingram back on Tuesday and he picked up right where he left off. In 34:33, he scored 21 points and added seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. However, for the first time in a while, he wasn’t the team’s leading scorer — that was Jrue Holiday.
Holiday finished the game with 22 points and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the regular season. Tuesday also marked his third game with at least 20 points in the last four games. With Ball sidelined, Holiday’s stepped up in a big way, as has JJ Redick, who scored 18 points for the Pelicans.
When Ball eventually returns from the adductor strain that has kept him out of the last six games, Gentry will have to decide whether or not it’s worth jeopardizing the chemistry and, most importantly, the success the new-look first unit has looked in Ball’s absence.
The Bad: The Portland Trail Blazers
Coming off of their best finish since the 2013-14 season, the Trail Blazers are the second-worst team in the NBA with a 5-10 record. While they’re hoping Carmelo Anthony will help them break out of their slump, he doesn’t offer much on the defensive end, which has been one of their main areas of struggle.
For their sake, they better hope Jusuf Nurkic comes back looking as good as he did last season and Anthony resembles a starting caliber player.
The Ball
Lonzo Ball missed his sixth straight game with an adductor strain. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.