Scoring At Will
I should be a bit more passive during these earlier rounds in order to get my teammates in rhythm with the playoffs. I don't need to drop 50 every game to win, especially not against the Grizzlies... 30 should do along with however many dishes I can find. After all, I can still be a pass-first player. I've been playing that way until this very season... when I started to score at will.
"Who's guarding Ja, me or Zo?" Jrue Holiday asked the coach.
"Lonzo, of course. Jrue, you will be guarding Dillon Brooks."
"Who?" Jrue Holiday laughed. "I ain't never heard of that man before."
"The starting shooting guard for the Memphis Grizzlies... he's averaging ten points on 53% true shooting. You two match up well in terms of height and most of his shots are catch and shoot attempts, locking him up should not be difficult for you."
Holiday nodded. "Alright, I'll guard him."
Lonzo smiled. "Ja isn't dropping more than 22... simple."
"If you don't sleep on defence." Zion chuckled.
"Sleep on defence?" Lonzo questioned.
"Zo do be sleeping on defence sometimes," Ingram added. "But it's all good when you have almost six steals a game."
"I still have the Defensive Player award on lock." Lonzo shrugged. "The clamps are on tonight for real. More importantly, instead of carrying the offensive load, I'll be more passive so you can get your points up." He looked at Ingram specifically, who was averaging 12.4 points in the season.
"The assist record is about to get broken... alright, Lonzo, I see you. I don't mind putting up small numbers as long as we get the blow-out win, though." Ingram replied. "You can put up as many shots as you want... you are the superstar of the league."
Lonzo laughed. "Not until I lift that Finals MVP trophy..."
"We should get ready, the game is about to start." Zion stated.
Lonzo nodded as he walked to his point guard position in front of the free-throw line. The bell rang and the referee walked forward, before throwing the ball up between Adams (yes... Steven Adams, Aquaman's long lost brother) and Favors.
Adams slapped the ball to Jackson Jr who then passed to Morant.
Morant dribbled up the court and met Lonzo's menacing gaze. After a few dribbles, a drive attempt and being pushed back like a weakling by the Clamp God himself, Morant passed the ball off to Crowder. The possession ended with Crowder putting up a heavily contested fade-away from behind the free-throw line on Holiday (there was a switch).
Brick.
Not so surprisingly, Crowder missed. Favors grabbed the board and passed the ball to Lonzo. A fastbreak immediately started as Lonzo threw the ball to Ingram who was met with Adams near the rim.
Ingram was fouled, making both free-throws soon after. Lonzo locked up Morant on the next play which led to him putting up a bad shot at the rim. Once again, Favors grabbed the board. Lonzo got the ball and drove straight to the rim with Brooks putting up a good contest on his layup.
He missed and Zion grabbed the offensive rebound.
SLAM.
Zion jumped and dunked the ball in with both hands right after, leaving no time for the defender to jump with him. In truth, the defender didn't want to end up in a poster which was wise of him.
Morant got locked up by Lonzo again, putting up a terrible mid-range shot. Favors snagged the board again.
Lonzo dribbled up the court and pulled up from mid-range, right in Ja's face.
Swish.
And just like that, the Pelicans were up 6-0 in only one minute and thirty seconds of playing time. Ja finally got his first two points with a wide-open fade-away shot.
Lucky shot...
Lonzo took it personally on the next possession, driving straight to the rim after a pick and roll with Zion. Morant didn't switch and tried to contest Lonzo's layup attempt. Lonzo switched from his right hand to his left in mid-air, putting it up relatively uncontested.
The ball went straight in.
He made it look so easy...
The Adams off-bounded it to Morant, who met Lonzo in the full-court. This was a feeling most point guards/ballhandlers knew all too well.
Lonzo slapped the ball from Morant and hustled for it, diving almost out of bounds. After officially stealing the ball, Lonzo passed it off to Favors who pulled up for a mid-range shot. It bounced twice before going in.
A bucket is still a bucket.
Morant got passed Lonzo and received a foul on his next drive, making both free-throws. Lonzo took it personally, pulling up from limitless range right in his face on the next possession.
Swish.
The score was 13-4, in favour of the Pelicans. It was looking like a blow-out already. The Pelicans brought out the clamps and Morant was forced to put up a highly-contested three in Lonzo's face.
Brick.
Lonzo ran to the rim and jumped out of the arena to snag the board. He bounce passed it to Ingram who was running the floor. Ingram put up an easy layup and Zo got his second assist.
With that, Lonzo was already heated up and ready to take over the game completely.
The Grizzlies call a timeout but it was too late...
Lonzo clamped up Morant again, snagged the board and ran up the court. Zion was past everyone else on the court so Lonzo threw the half-court lob to him. It was a perfect pass and a perfect catch, resulting in a 180 alley-oop slam from Zion.
That was the beginning of the end as the Pelicans super fast-pace play was introduced to the Playoffs.
Lonzo blocked Morant twice, on back-to-back defensive possessions. One was even a dunk attempt. After blocking his dunk attempt, Lonzo sprinted up the court and postered Valanciunas with a right-hand slam...
In just the first-quarter, Lonzo had 15 points (5-8 shooting), 5 rebounds and 11 assists with 3 blocks and a steal. Meanwhile, Morant had 8 points (3-16 shooting) and an assist. Zion had 6 points (3-5 shooting), 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
When the second-quarter started, Morant saw Lonzo again and felt a chill go down his spine. Morant was ice cold when the Clamp God was on him.
Not this man again... not another quarter...
Lonzo went off on the offensive end, murdering the entire Grizzlies team single-handedly. He had completely forgotten about passing the ball in the third-quarter. His instincts took over and he continued to put the ball up, rarely ever missing.
~Box score
Pelicans win 136 - 95.
Lonzo: 50 points, 15 rebounds, 21 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 6 turnovers, 17-24 FG, 3-5 3PT, 13-13 FT. đ (44 minutes played)
Holiday: 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers (38 minutes)
Favors: 15 points, 11 rebounds (27 minutes)
Zion: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5-12 FG (33 minutes)
Ingram: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3-8 FG (26 minutes)
Grizzlies:
Morant: 22 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 7-30 FG, 1-8 3PT, 7-8 FT. đ„¶
Valanciunas: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6-15 FG
Dwight Howard: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6-8 FG (Hmm)
~
The young Pelicans returned to the locker room, lively as ever. They were all planning on what to do in between the Playoff games against the Grizzlies as, clearly, they weren't a challenge at all. They were an easy sweep.
Lonzo had a press conference, as usual.
"How did it feel to play your first game in the playoffs, was it any different or did you feel the same as you did in the regular season?"
Lonzo smiled. "50 points, 15 rebounds, 21 assists... hmm, I don't feel any different. The Grizzlies are a good young team but we're on a whole different level. Might as well bring out the broom now and call it a sweep. Now the Western Conference Finals... that's where the real challenge is at. We might lose a game or two there."
"I see."
"Did the number '24' result in a change of mindset while you were in the game?" Another reporter asked.
"I guess so." Lonzo nodded. "I wanted to drop 30 on them but accidentally dropped 50... honestly, I thought it would be harder to score but it's just as easy as in the regular-season."
After the press conference was over, Lonzo got ready to leave the arena.