Pelicans emphasize finish of sport conditions after loss to Timberwolves – NOLA.com

New Orleans Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego talks with the workforce throughout a play evaluate throughout the first half of the basketball sport towards the Golden State Warriors on the Smoothie King Heart in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Employees Picture by David Grunfeld, The Occasions-Picayune)
The New Orleans Pelicans’ movie session Wednesday morning was the nineteenth one this season that got here after a loss.
This one was maybe the hardest one to observe.
Most of the different 18 losses have been blowouts or video games that have been determined by the point the top of the fourth quarter got here round.
Tuesday’s extra time loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was not solely a sport the Pelicans might have received, however it was one they need to have received.
The Pels led 129-125 when Jose Alvarado rebounded a missed shot by Minnesota’s Donte DiVinceno with simply 46.4 seconds remaining. However Alvarado turned the ball over, resulting in a Timberwolves’ basket to make it a 2-point sport. Jeremiah Fears missed a contested layup with 13.6 seconds left. Minnesota, trailing 129-127, referred to as a timeout with 7 seconds left. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards drove to the basket for a lay-up to ship the sport to extra time and Minnesota pulled away. The Pelicans had a foul to provide on the Edwards drive, however didn’t use it.
New Orleans Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego talks with the workforce throughout a play evaluate throughout the first half of the basketball sport towards the Golden State Warriors on the Smoothie King Heart in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Employees Picture by David Grunfeld, The Occasions-Picayune)
So its simple to grasp why Pelicans’ interim head coach James Borrego used Wednesday’s apply to focus solely on finish of sport conditions.
“(It’s an) space of  development,” Borrego stated. “You place your self in these positions and now you’ve bought to shut. We’re on the aim line and we’ve bought to determine find out how to shut. It’s maturity. It is execution. It’s poise. It’s confidence.”
The Pelicans (3-19) don’t have to attend lengthy to see if the apply helped. They get one other shot on the Timberwolves (13-8) Thursday at Smoothie King Heart.
Losses within the clutch function teachable moments for a younger workforce, notably rookies like Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears.
“Simply be extra disciplined,” Queen stated. “Shut out the sport higher. No turnovers. No second probabilities for them. And simply execute.”
Borrego’s Wednesday apply consisted of the workforce going via varied finish of sport situations. It ranged from being up by two with 30 seconds left to being down by 2 with 30 seconds left and all the things in between.
“Do it till you want what you see,” Borrego stated. “Be sure that we’re all speaking about it what we’re searching for and attempt to replicate it as a lot as doable. You may’t get the stress stage or stress stage that you just’ll get tomorrow evening or in a sport, however you possibly can definitely simulate it as a lot as you possibly can.”
Borrego focuses on the main points and is all about repetition till the workforce will get it proper. Due to the best way the schedule has performed out, this was simply his fourth precise apply with the workforce since taking up for Willie Inexperienced. A number of the apply time has targeted on what Borrego calls “extra foundational stuff.”
“This workforce has to dominate the margins,” Borrego stated. “That’s the aim proper now.”
The margins are how the workforce does after a timeout. And on the finish of quarters and finish of video games.
“These conditions we need to dominate,” Borrego stated. “It’s very doable. It’s not rocket science. (It takes) some focus. You’ve bought to provide it consideration. You’ve bought to cope with it. Ensuring guys know the place they should be. All of it comes all the way down to the main points there. (Wednesday) was most likely essentially the most detailed, finish of the sport apply I’ve had shortly. It’s been a minute. It felt good. We felt the ache of final evening. We owned it. That’s the great thing about this workforce. No person’s hanging their heads.”
{{description}}
E-mail notifications are solely despatched as soon as a day, and provided that there are new matching objects.
Information Ideas:
nolanewstips@theadvocate.com
Different questions:
subscriberservices@theadvocate.com
Need assistance?
Your browser is outdated and doubtlessly weak to safety dangers.
We suggest switching to one of many following browsers:

source