Jayson Tatum is back to a #1 and shooting down opponents
No disrespect to the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers, but they're teams in the early stages of the rebuild. As delightful as the victories over them were given the New Orleans Pelicans' losing streak prior to those games, the real tests of the rebuilt squad were always going to come against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings - two teams handily leading their respective divisions, and Sactown an annual powerhouse.
Things looked grim against the T-Wolves early, as Minnesota raced out to an 8 point 1st quarter lead and expanded it to 9 by halftime. Head coach Doc Rivers fired up the team in the locker room, reminding the players that this was Jestor's Birthday (Observed) and they needed to get out there and win this for the GM who had faith in them.
Message received. 8 points gained back in the third quarter to make it a 1 point game, then the completed comeback in the fourth to stun Minnesota 113-109.
Third straight 30+ game for Jayson Tatum with 34 points, a steal, and a block. A near-miss of a double-double for Tyrese Maxey with 18 points, 9 assists, a steal, and a block.
But help was needed from the bench, too.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper successfully soared and scored at the rim repeatedly
As has so often happened this season, the second unit's scoring fell to Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who was 5/7 and a perfect 3/3 from the line for 13 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal, as the rest of the bench shot absolutely terribly all evening long.
"That's how it is sometimes," OMP said. "You get a bunch of guys going cold, you gotta pick up your teammates and say I got you, I'm gonna carry us."
Test 1: Passed
But a more deadly examination awaited the next game against the Kings, one of the CSL's historically and currently elite franchises with two championship banners and annual contender status. And one of the Top 5 players in the league in Kofi Cockburn.
As before, the Pelicans lost the first quarter, 19-21. Then they roared back in the second, popping off for 30 points to seize an 8 point halftime lead and never looked to be in serious danger of letting it slip away thereafter, emerging 101-92 winners.
For the first time, Tatum did not score 30+. He scored 40+. 44 points, 5 rebounds, as he played 39 minutes due to Aaron Wiggins' foul trouble, but shot and shot and shot all night long. 12/30, 6/18 from downtown, 14/17 from the charity stripe. Laughing at the press conference afterwards, he admitted, "Yeah, I'm going to be a little sore tomorrow morning. Ice bath has my name on it."
As always, Tyrese Maxey impacted the game
His sidekick, Tyrese Maxey? 21 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, in a second straight excellent all around game. Questioned about his clear second scorer role in this new scheme after sharing co-scoring duties with Anfernee Simons the last year and change, Maxey laughed. "Like, I don't actually care about that. I'm out there playing basketball and having fun. JT is one of my best friends in the league. I'm happy for him, I really am."
As against Minnesota, the entire bench had a difficult time putting the ball in the basket with any efficiency save for one player.
Scotty Pippen Jr. helped bury the Kings in 3 pointers
This time, it was Scotty Pippen Jr. who stepped up to the plate, drilling 6 of 9 shots, 3 of 4 from behind the arc for 13 points and a steal. Said an unaffiliated scout in attendance, "You can criticize his slow development and lack of consistency all you want, and that's fair, but he's shooting 45.3% from 3... as a rookie. And he's leading the bench with an average of a forced turnover a game when he wasn't expected to really be that guy on defense."
To be clear, no one expects this streak to continue in perpetuity. A tough road test is up next in Detroit against a supremely talented Pistons squad with a winning record in the Central, a division almost as rough as the Southwest. And then a date with the Memphis Grizzlies when New Orleans has yet to prove they can beat their division foes this season.
But so far, it's been a delightful run and read, seeing Tatum rediscover some of the magic of his Denver days, and the sheer grit of these Pelicans finding ways to win close games against top-shelf opponents.
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035