Jamahl Mosley called out the New Orleans Pelicans' defense after their 145-111 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. The defeat was the Pelicans' fourth straight and came after a 51-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday, their worst regular-season loss in franchise history.
“The numbers speak for themselves. That's three games in a row [giving up] 130-plus. So it's a combination of a lot of things,” Mosley said. “Our will and our want to defend at a high level, night in and night out. My job as a coach is to get them prepared, walking into a game, knowing the competition that we're playing, and then the ability to stay tied together when things don't go our way. Those things all together can help you get over the hump if you have the will and want to defend. If you stay tied together when the hard times happen. And my job as the coach is to put them in the right position to find a way to be successful in these moments. So all of that is true for the response.”
The Pelicans allowed the Nets to score 83 points in the first half, Brooklyn's third-highest first-half total in franchise history. Brooklyn scored 40 points in the paint in the first half after averaging 39.2 per game (29th in the NBA) entering the night.
Six Nets players reached 15 points during the win, tying a franchise record. Brooklyn shot 45-of-79 (57%) from the field and 20-of-41 (49%) from three with 30 assists and 13 turnovers.
Pelicans embarrassed by Nets following 51-point loss to Warriors
The Pelicans have put together one of the worst defensive stretches in franchise history during their four-game losing streak. They've posted a league-worst 137.0 defensive rating during that span, allowing opponents to shoot 52.3 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three with 31.0 assists and 12.8 turnovers per game.
Zion Williamson ripped into the Pelicans for their lack of buy-in following the Nets loss.
Article Continues Below“Unacceptable. I don't even have a lot of words. Just unacceptable,” Williamson said. “As men, we have to, as a unit- players, coaches, everybody- you have to go look at yourselves in the mirror when you're by yourself and say, ‘ Did I do everything that I needed to do for my team? Was I in the gaps on defense? Was I a low man when I was supposed to? Did I get out there and contest shots to make it tough on them? Did I do everything I needed to do? Did I give in real effort? That's what everybody has to do.”
The Pelicans opened the season 0-4 but responded with a four-game win streak before their latest four-game skid. What does Mosely think has changed over the last four games that has led to New Orleans' struggles?
“You say injuries, momentum swings, the league. There's no pointing exactly to what changed,” he said. “I think the mental approach that we have to have in these moments is to realize that no one's coming to save us. When someone goes down, when you lose a body, you've got to come out with even more of a doggish mentality, even more tied-together mentality. And it can't be one or two people doing it. It's got to be a collective, all together. That means we've got to do more film. You've got to be more walk-through. There's got to be more conversations. There's got to be more accountability and communication in those regards. So those are the pieces that will change to flip it. Just like you start 0-4, you win four in a row, you go 0-4 and four now. Now you've got to look at the face in the mirror and do some reflecting, like, okay, what do we need to do to get back to those pieces of going, winning the fourth straight.