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Zion Williamson is frustrated by the New Orleans approach, and may result in Gentry being fired

The Pelicans' exit from the playoffs left a bitter taste in the rookie in question, and the one who might pay the price is the coach. And also: in Portland, Paul George is being stung again, and what is the situation ahead of the battle for the eighth ticket in the West?

• Zion Williamson
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Damien Lillard

Walla! sport

Now it’s official: The fight for the final ticket to the NBA playoffs at the Western Conference will be decided through an internal tournament. New Orleans and Sacramento were out of the race tonight (Sunday through Monday) after losing to San Antonio and Houston respectively, and now have four contenders left: Memphis ranked eighth, Portland ninth, San Antonio tenth and Phoenix ranked 11th.

As part of the NBA's impromptu bubble format, the 8th and 9th ranked teams will meet for an indoor tournament against each other. If the team in eighth place wins the first game between the two, it will advance to the playoffs. If she loses, there will be a decisive second game over the entire pot.

The first game will be played on the night between Saturday and Sunday, and if the second game is needed it will be played the next day.

Playoff Race

8. Memphis
___

9. Portland - Half Game Back
10. San Antonio - Game Back
11. Phoenix - Game Half Back


What are they left with?

Memphis - Boston and Milwaukee

Portland - Dallas and Brooklyn

San Antonio - Houston and Utah

Phoenix - Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and Dallas

More on Walla! NEWS

51 points for Lillard in a win over Portland, New Orleans and Sacramento outside the playoffs

To the full article

On the face of it, the Lakers who finish first in the West want to avoid mostly a meeting with Portland in the first round. The Blazers are not only the most experienced of the teams vying for the final ticket to the playoffs, they also get Damien Lillard goal-oriented and in top form.

Tonight Lillard sniped 51 points in a 121: 124 victory over Philadelphia, leaving the Blazers in a great starting position to participate in the decisive indoor tournament - to which they even hope to move up from eighth place.

Lillard's performance came after an uncharacteristic dysfunction on his part in money in the game against the Clippers, in which he missed two crucial free throws. "After the last game, I got a little down on myself. I was frustrated," Lillard admitted. "I talked to some of my best friends, and they said to me, 'It happened to you for a reason. You had a lot of great moments in Money Time in the past, so it had to be balanced.' I think they were right - impossible to expect everything to always go as you expect "In these situations, fortunately, I had the chance to atone for it today, and that's what I did."

"I don't think there is a logical person who appreciates Damien less because he missed two free throws," Blazers coach Terry Stotes added. "None of us were worried about him. He always knows how to prepare himself for big games, for big moments. Today he has shown the determination he has shown throughout his career."

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After the game, Yusuf Norkich added fuel to the fire in the ongoing trash talk between Lillard and Paul George. Remember, Lillard was the one who scored over George an unforgettable three-pointer that knocked him and the Thunder out of the 2019 playoffs. Score similar threes during his career.

Another chapter in the history of the conflict between the two was written yesterday, when George told Lillard: "You will be sent home this year. Honor." This morning Norkich returned fire in Lillard's name, saying after the game sarcastically: "Damien only takes bad shots, no? Luckily, he hits most of them."

But the big story of the night was Zion Williamson and New Orleans, who were finally left out of the fight for a playoff ticket. The Pelicans lost 122: 113 to San Antonio and although Zion finished with 25 points and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes, he looked very frustrated at the end - especially from the performance of his teammates on the mental side.

"The way we came out of the locker room for the second half is unthinkable," Zion said of the Spurs' run in the third quarter, which proved crucial. "We got into the second half without motivation, and that's worrying when it comes to the game of being or ceasing. As you go up to the second half, it gives the pace to continue, and we are not on the right track. We have to learn from that experience and be better."

Williamson argues that there is no problem of chemistry between the players, but that it is only part of the team's learning process. "Every team has difficulties along the way, every team has to get through it. We have good communication between the players, but sometimes we don't use it enough, and we see it. We have to put ourselves in a better position to achieve victories. We must not go up for half seconds like That we have today, it's that simple. "

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was also surprised by the mental laxity of his players and said that "there is no explanation for this".

"We talked before the game, and we all agreed that it should be treated as game 7 in the playoffs. Still, we started the game very badly. I have no explanation for that, I wish I had - but to win a game like this you must want more, execute your game plan, Keep it stronger - and we did not do all that today. "

Either way, it's doubtful Gentry will stay on the lines next season. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojciechowski, "Pelicans president David Griffin has a tough decision to make. Gentry has a contract for another season, but is not sure he will stay."

According to reports, one of the main reasons for Gentry's imminent departure is the "poor" handling of the issue of the minuteness and fitness of Zion. The rookie in question did not play much this season anyway, and even when he returned he was not a partner in some of the games in the last minutes, even though the result was close. Sports Illustrated reported that "Zion's bench could rise to gentry in a chair," and the U.S. media has already mentioned two potential candidates to replace him: Tyrone Lou and Jason Kidd.