It’s not often a team can pinpoint the exact moment in a season that catapulted its turnaround. But the Pelicans (45-28) know well that their loss to the Lakers in the semifinals of the in-season tournament was their watershed moment.
On that early December night, the Pelicans were destroyed 133-89 by the Lakers, causing many in the media to write them off as a playoff contender.
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith poked fun at Zion Williamson’s weight, suggesting that the Duke product wasn’t committed to being a pro. Others urged the Pelicans to blow up the team. Some even sympathized with coach Willie Green for being given a subpar roster.
All that negativity ended up being the wake-up call they needed.
Since that loss to the Lakers, the Pelicans have a record of 33-17 after starting the season 12-11.
The Lakers beat the snot out of us in the in-season tournament,” McCollum told NBA TV. “For us, it was a way to look in the mirror and figure out how we can be better defensively. We needed to figure out how to depend on our athleticism, length and communication. The best playoff teams defend at a high level in the half court and have players that can close games and score throughout. I think we have both.
Scoot Henderson has had an up-and-down rookie season. Friday night was a historic low. Henderson had the worst single-game plus/minus in NBA history as the Portland Trail Blazers’ loss to the Miami Heat, 142-82. His mark of -58 means the Blazers were outscored by 58 points during the time the rookie was on the court. The previous record was held by Manny Harris, who logged a -57 with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011, in a game where the Lakers beat them 112-57. At least they kept Los Angeles from doubling their score! Henderson just beat out Miles Bridges, who had a -56 plus/minus in December when the 76ers beat his Charlotte Hornets, 135-82. Henderson beat out his own previous worst plus/minus rating, as he also had a -56 in 139-77 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s a tough record to achieve, because you have to be good enough to play a ton of minutes, but your team has to be bad enough to lose by a ton of points. While his stats weren’t terrible — he had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists — he had seven turnovers, helping Miami to a whopping 17 steals. Friday’s game was the largest margin of victory in franchise history for the Heat. Perhaps they ran up the score on Portland after a summer when the Blazers refused to honor Damian Lillard’s request to be traded to Miami, sending him to Milwaukee instead. Ironically, Lillard’s trade request was spurred by Portland using the No. 3 pick on Henderson rather than trading for veteran help. Now he’s the centerpiece of the rebuild for the Blazers, who are counting on him to a huge plus in the future. Friday, he was a historic minus.
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