Despite having more than half of their roster unavailable due to injuries, the New Orleans Pelicans earned their fourth win of the regular season after beating the Golden State Warriors 108-100 Sunday at the Smoothie King Center. Here was the good, the bad and the Ball from the game.
The Good: The New Starting Backcourt
In the six games that Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday have started together this season, they posted an offensive rating of 106.8 and a defensive rating of 116.5 for an overall net rating of -9.6. With Ball sidelined, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has started Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick in the backcourt, and the two veteran guard have looked great together.
On Sunday against the Warriors, Holiday and Redick combined for 48 points on 43.5% shooting from the field. In the previous game they started together, they combined for 45 points 61.5% shooting from the field in a win against the LA Clippers. The Pelicans are 3-1 in the games Redick and Holiday have started together.
The Bad: The Warriors
The team that made the last five NBA Finals has the worst record in the league with two wins and 12 losses and much like the Pelicans, injuries are at the center of all of their problems. The bright side is that once they’re healthy, they’ll have four All-Star players on their roster in Stephen Curry, D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, plus — in all likelihood — a high lottery pick.
The Ball
Lonzo Ball sat out of his fifth consecutive game with an adductor strain. Ball has been sidelined since Nov. 9.
He will re-evaluated on Monday.