The New Orleans Pelicans got plenty of useful minutes Thursday night, but the two names that matter most didn’t carry their weight.
In a 128-118 preseason loss to Miami, the Pelicans saw encouraging work from several role players - shooting, rebounding and playmaking all showed up in stretches - yet Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III never turned that into the kind of backbone performance New Orleans needed. The result was a game that had enough positive flashes to notice, but not enough cohesion to feel convincing.
Williamson and Murphy finished with 19 points combined on 6-for-17 shooting, along with two rebounds and three assists. That’s not just a cold shooting night; it’s a quiet one for two players expected to drive the offense.
Williamson’s explosive finishes brought some life, but he managed only one rebound and one assist in 16 minutes. New Orleans was +2 while he was on the floor, but the larger concern was how little he did outside of scoring.
Murphy never really found his rhythm either. His job is to stretch the floor and help shape the offense around Williamson, but that connection wasn’t there often enough.
The Pelicans were minus-13 with Murphy playing, and the pairing still looks like it needs more snap and more flow. Zion’s pressure should be setting up looks for Trey, and Trey’s shooting should be opening the lane for Zion.
Too often, those pieces still don’t fit together cleanly.
Jeremiah Fears earned a B for another strong showing. He looked stronger, more confident and more willing to assert himself.
He knocked down two of five threes, which gave defenders something else to worry about besides his speed. The turnovers were the blemish - three of them against two assists - but the overall performance was solid.
Bennedict Mathurin got a C+ after attacking with purpose and showing he can get to his own shot. The scoring aggression stood out, but the defensive issues were still there.
His minus-12 reflected that, even if the number wasn’t all on him. The offense helps his case; the defense keeps the picture complicated.
Yves Missi had one of the better nights on the roster, earning a B+ after finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes. He brought interior production and protected the ball, never turning it over. For a player whose value is supposed to come from finishing, rebounding and rim protection, that’s a step in the right direction.
Herb Jones got a C+ despite a scoreless line, because the box score doesn’t capture everything he did. He had two steals, two assists and three rebounds, and New Orleans broke even during his minutes. Still, four fouls and no shot attempts in just 10 minutes limited the impact he could make.
Jordan Poole was the most efficient scorer for New Orleans and got an A-. He scored 14 points on only five shots and hit three of four from deep, giving the offense exactly the kind of burst it needed from him.
Saddiq Bey followed with a B after reaching double figures with 12 points, five rebounds and one turnover. He hit two of four threes and all four free throws, giving the second unit a clean scoring boost without needing the ball to run through him.
Derik Queen received a C- after showing effort on the boards and on defense, but the execution was rough. He grabbed eight rebounds, yet five turnovers in 16 minutes erased too much of that value. The effort is there; the polish isn’t.
Karlo Matkovic got a B for looking more locked in defensively while still adding a dunk and a corner three. That mix matters, because his offense becomes more useful when the defensive focus is there too.
Bryce McGowens earned a B- even though he missed all five of his shots. He still found a way to matter, leading the team with seven assists and adding three steals. The shot has to come around, but he showed he can contribute in other ways when it doesn’t.
Jaron Pierre Jr. was one of the standout reserves and got an A- after hitting four threes. Kobe Bufkin followed with a B+ after knocking down three of his own.
Trendon Watford picked up a B- for helping on the glass during a rough shooting night. Caleb Houstan was at C, while Malik Dia, Christian Koloko and Julian Reese all received incomplete grades because each played fewer than six minutes.
The larger story, though, was what happened when the Pelicans gave the ball away. Miami scored 30 points off 22 New Orleans turnovers and won the fast-break battle 30-11. That kind of sloppiness wiped out a lot of the good work from the supporting cast.
Through two preseason games, the Pelicans still haven’t shown much that looks dramatically different from last season. Willie Green has time to shape the approach, but the encouraging individual performances haven’t yet turned into a clear team identity.
And until Williamson and Murphy start setting a higher standard, the rest of the roster can only carry New Orleans so far.
In Other News...
Pelicans Fans May Not Expect Zion In This Training Camp Debate
Training camp has already produced one small, friendly debate inside the Pelicans locker room, with Derik Queen weighing in on which players have been the most explosive above the rim. After watching practices, Queen put Karlo Matkovic at the top of his dunker rankings, with Trey Murphy III and Yves Missi also drawing notice for the kind of finishes that tend to stand out when the pace picks up.
The list offered a little snapshot of what has been showing up on the court, and it also explained why Zion Williamson was not near the top of it. Queen said Williamson has not been dunking much in practice, a detail that says more about what has been happening lately than about Williamsons well-known athletic ability. For a team that knows how much rim pressure Williamson can create, it is still the kind of training camp note that makes people lean in a little closer. [Read more 🡒]
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Moores return gives New Orleans another chance to evaluate a young player coming off a long layoff, and it also underscores how much business still needs to be sorted out around the final roster spots. The Pelicans have been using Summer League to sort through those decisions, and Moores presence now adds another layer to a picture that had already been shifting behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Poole Is Forcing A Pelicans Lineup Decision
Jordan Poole has given the Pelicans something to think about early in preseason, and it is the kind of decision a coaching staff would rather have than the alternative. His play has looked sharper and more disciplined than it did a year ago, with the kind of shooting and creation that can ease pressure on the rest of the offense, especially when Zion Williamson is on the floor and the half-court gets crowded.
New Orleans now has to weigh whether Pooles early run is enough to bump him into the starting conversation for the next game against Dallas. The fit is appealing because his playmaking could help stabilize the group, but the bigger question is whether this version of Poole holds up long enough to matter once the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]