The emotional high the New Orleans Pelicans were on this time two weeks ago has faded.
The Pelicans’ five-game home winning streak and their 10-5 record since the All-Star break don’t feel quite as promising now as it did then.
That’s what happens when such a solid run is followed by a five-game losing streak the Pelicans will take into their upcoming west coast trip. The Pelicans play the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday followed by a Friday night game against the Sacramento Kings.
They’ll be looking to remove the bitter taste of their current skid that was capped by Sunday’s 134-102 home loss to the Houston Rockets.
“We’ve always responded,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego. “We’ve had our moments where we haven’t been our best. I think the biggest thing right now is responding to it and finishing the season out in a competitive fashion, which is what we’ve done for the bulk of this stretch.
“Over the last 70 games, this group has responded and played with competitive spirit and fought every night. I didn’t see that for 48 minutes in the last game.”
The 32-point loss to the Rockets is tied for the worst loss of the season. The Pels (25-51) also lost by 32 points to the Boston Celtics in the third game of the season.
Now there are just six games remaining, and the Pelicans will miss the playoffs for the second straight season. It’s also the first time in franchise history the Pelicans have lost 50 or more games in back-to-back seasons, but Borrego’s message to his team has been to run through the finish line.
“Win games, compete and just play our brand of basketball,” forward Trey Murphy said.
Murphy has missed the past three games with an ankle injury, but Borrego said “he’s definitely in the mix” to return Thursday or Friday.
Borrego said Monday that he hasn’t had any discussions with executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars to shut any star players down for these last six games of the season.
“Six games is still a lot of basketball to continue to build habits and get better,” Borrego said. “Young guys and vets, finishing strong. You don’t want to go into the offseason on the down swing. You want to keep the spirit uplifted and the momentum in the right direction, which is what we have done.”
Well, at least until the previous five games when they lost to four of the top teams in the Eastern Conference (Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors) and then the Rockets.
The losses to the Knicks, Pistons and Raptors all came on the road.
“The road trip was a tough road trip,” Borrego said. “Some winnable games there. But now it’s about finishing strong. It’s our job. We’ve got to finish strong. Do your job and be competitive and bring it every single day. That’s the job of a professional.”
Borrego wasn’t pleased in how his second unit played in Sunday’s loss to the Rockets. The Pelicans got outscored 39-18 in the second quarter of that one. When asked what went wrong in that quarter, Borrego was blunt.
“I subbed,” he said.
But Borrego liked the way his team responded at Tuesday’s practice. The energy was high and the practice was competitive.
“The goal is now to respond in Portland,” Borrego said. “There is no doubt this group will respond and have a great effort on Thursday night. They don’t want this to end. That’s when you know you’re going in the right direction.
“This group really cares about each other. Nobody wants to see the season come to an end. Now we have to do our part to make sure this doesn’t happen next season.”