What to expect from the Pelicans coming out of the All-Star break

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The Pelicans won 4 of their last 6 games but an 18-point loss to the Lakers spoiled the momentum heading into the All-Star break.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have another game coming up for another 7 or 8 days,” said Pelicans head coach Willie Green. “So we gotta live with this one for a while... but we’ll get back after it and get going.”

It was another slow start for the Pelicans in L.A., outscored by 13 in the first quarter and giving up 38 points to the Lakers in the opening 12 minutes.

Head coach Willie Green blames a lack of urgency.

“We gotta start the game better,” Green said. “Can’t dig yourself in a hole, especially on another team’s home floor. And then, you gotta maintain it. That’s just execution across the board, which to be honest, we were poor at tonight.”

It was exactly the opposite of the Pelicans, giving the Lakers a second win in their last six games.

Los Angeles now holds the 2 to 1-series advantage.

The two teams will face off for the final time on March 14th in New Orleans.

But in the meantime, Green wants his team to focus on playing up to their standard of basketball, which he reiterates the team didn’t do Wednesday night in L.A.

“Making quick decisions, point-five, our movement and our pace, we were kind of just jogging tonight,” Green said. “That’s not good enough for us.”

With 23 games left of the regular season, the Pelicans sit in seventh place in the Western Conference.

But with only four games separating the Pels from the third-place Sacramento Kings, this team still has a chance to lock down a top 6 seed for the postseason.

“We gotta enjoy our break and get away from the game for a few days,” Green said. “And then come back and refocus on our foundation and principles.”

This 8-day break gives the Pels a chance to reset for the last month and a half before the postseason starts.

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