Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Dec 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Gerald Henderson (9) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) during the first quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. 500 at home and have gone 8-8 after starting the season 1-11.
More importantly, they defended it.
The Blazers were without star Damian Lillard, and the Pelicans took advantage of his absence and an energetic home crowd in controlling the final three quarters of the game. New Orleans recorded only eight offensive boards, with Davis picking up three. What that means though is that the Pelicans are away from their homes and families on the holiday and it pushes back the gifts that each player would otherwise receive on Christmas morning. The last time the Trail Blazers lost every time it played on a road trip of at least five games was February 17-24, 1974.
A quick scan of the box score or giving more credence to the second half rather than the first would lead one to believe the New Orleans Pelicans might be turning the proverbial corner.
DeMarcus Cousins dropped a big 25-point, 16-rebound night last time out against the Pacers and according to coach George Karl, he was on the practice court hours before most of his teammates on Saturday afternoon trying to prepare for the Blazers. “We’re playing a team that’s a good team – really kind of had our number, really – but we’re playing at home”. Crabbe went 8-of-15 and is averaging 19 points in the three games. Lillard watched from the bench.
CJ McCollum led Portland with 19 points and seven assists. The Portland Trail Blazers are shooting 35.3 percent from beyond the arc and 73.4 percent from the free throw line. After the game, Gentry claimed Holiday will stay in his reserve role once his remaining restrictions are lifted after the New Year, but it won’t affect the number of minutes he’ll play.
Trail Blazers: Al-Farouq Aminu scored 10 points and had eight rebounds against his former team…. By the time it was over, New Orleans had a commanding 53-36 lead.
The defense is also a work in progress, although Portland’s 89 points were the fifth fewest allowed by the Pels this season, and the Blazers’.347 shooting percentage was by far the worst by an opponent. James led the way with 33 points and 10 rebounds and Love added 18 to help put Cleveland in position for its first season sweep in this series since 2009-10. Some games we didn’t even show up to play.
Without Lillard in the line-up we’ll see quite a bit of Tim Frazier and McCollum will get all of opportunities he handle if the Blazers have trouble scoring.
