James Borrego has preached all season long about his team’s resiliency and the players not dropping the proverbial sword.
Well, that sword shattered into pieces on the floor of Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center on Friday night.
A team still trying to win games because it has no draft picks lost to a tanking team that threw in the towel months ago.
The Pelicans blew a 17-point lead to the Sacramento Kings in a 117-113 loss. Just two weeks removed from a five-game winning streak that may have made observers think they were figuring things out, the Pels now have lost seven straight games.
This latest one came against the team with the third-worst record in the league.
“We gave up three 30-point quarters defensively,” Borrego said. “I thought that was the game. Bottom line.”
The Pelicans led 30-21 at the end of the first quarter and then followed that up by giving up 34, 30 and 32 points over the next three quarters.
The Kings have a tradition of lighting a purple victory beam after wins. They haven’t lit the beam much this season, but they got a chance to on Friday. At the same time, they dimmed the last flicker of light the Pelicans had this season.
The Pelicans (25-53) are guaranteed to finish with less than 30 wins for the second season in a row. It’s the first time in franchise history they’ve put together back-to-back seasons with less than 30 victories.
That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news: There are only four more games to watch, including two at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans host the Orlando Magic on Sunday and the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, then hit the road Friday and Sunday against the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively.
“Just keep competing,” Borrego said after Friday’s loss. “That’s the bottom line. Sprint through the finish line. Don’t give in. The goal is to go win two games at home right now.”
Borrego said earlier in the week that there have been no discussions to sit any players. But at some point over these next four games, the Pelicans should give the rookies and two-way players more minutes.
These past few games, it’s been rookie Jeremiah Fears showing the most fight. Fears matched his career-high with 28 points Friday. He also had eight rebounds, six assists and made five 3-pointers. The 19-year-old Fears is the youngest player in league history to score 25 points with at least five rebounds, assists and 3-pointers.
“That’s’ what development and growth is about,” Borrego said. “He’s stacking high-quality games together. He’s impacting winning. His effort defensively is there. Obviously, he’s making big plays for us offensively. I’m really proud of his growth.”
Seeing Fears’ growth is promising.
But seeing your 6-foot-3 rookie point guard also lead the team with eight rebounds in a game is not. Rebounding and dependable 3-point shooting should be high on Joe Dumars’ list of priorities this offseason. The Pels were outrebounded 46-36 on Friday. They’ve been outrebounded in every game of the seven-game losing streak.
“That’s got to become a mindset for this group, for this organization going forward,” Borrego said. “Can you rebound the ball or not? That will define if this group takes the next step or not.”
Friday’s loss to the Kings was a step backward.
Be careful. Don’t step on that sword.