NEW ORLEANS — As most of the residents in southern Louisiana were bunkering down, preparing for a rare and historic winter storm that would overtake an area of the country not accustomed to snowfall and sub-freezing temperatures, the New Orleans Pelicans were storming back in historic fashion at the Smoothie King Center.
The arena was largely empty, with entire sections of the upper bowl completely unoccupied and hundreds of vacant seats in the lower bowl. Of course, that’s what you get when two of the worst teams in the NBA are playing on the eve of a weather event that warranted the governor to issue a state of emergency.
But for those that were in attendance (some paying as little as $2 for a lower-bowl ticket), they were were able to momentarily bask in the warm glow of the largest comeback in franchise history for the Pelicans, who beat the Utah Jazz 123-119 in overtime after trailing by 25 points.
There was a time when the Utah Jazz blowing a 25-point loss would have felt like a horrible failure. But the times have changed. At the end of this game, Jazz head coach Will Hardy was able to put a positive spin on the night.
“Nights like tonight are good for our team,” he said. “We had a lot of guys out there at the end of the game that have not had a ton of experience in late-game situations in the NBA...Was the execution at the end of the game what we wanted? No, not every play was exactly what we wanted. Were there some shots taken that we would like to have back? Of course, but that’s the purpose of this. It’s to help our team and our players grow and learn.”
And so they will. Or at least that’s the hope.
From just about every angle, it was as perfect an outcome as possible for the Jazz during their two-game stint in New Orleans. They alternated resting Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton on Friday and Monday respectively, giving the Pelicans an opportunity to pounce on weaknesses. In doing so they were able to not only get a strong hold on the worst record in the Western Conference, but also give a ton of playing time to some of their youngest players.
The Jazz’s closing lineup, in a very close overtime game, included four players that are 23-years-old or younger, which fulfills what the Jazz have long said their main priority is this season — giving opportunity to develop. So Hardy is right in saying that games like this are good for the Jazz, so long as they actually do learn something from these experiences.
“I feel like we’ve got better with it over time, for sure,” Isaiah Collier said. “And I feel like that’s great for us as rookies, second year players, whatever it is. It’s going to help us in the long run.”
And in the short run, the Jazz fall to 10-31 on the season, which is the third-worst record in the NBA. For a team with its eye on the draft lottery, that’s a perfect place to be.
There are certainly things that need to be addressed and cleaned up and fixed. CJ McCollum, who had just 14 points in the first half, finished the game with 45 points for the Pelicans. So, to say that the Jazz’s defense was poor is probably an understatement.
The Jazz also took a ton of ill-advised and poorly timed shots when the game was on the line. But, again, that’s what you get when you are playing a lineup full of players that are literally still college aged.
“The late game stuff is something for us to learn from,” Hardy said. “We have some individuals who defensively, need to continue to up their level. But I’m leaving here more optimistic than ever about our team, because that’s a lot of young players playing that game, playing down the stretch, against a bunch of guys that have been in the NBA for a while, and have a lot of experience. So we’re a young group that’s on the rise.”