Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Pelicans lost because they failed to bring the required level of effort and intensity for a full 48 minutes.
After Monday's 103-89 loss to the Magic, Anthony Davis quipped in his post-game comments, "We just don't play hard all the time. It starts with our first unit. Coming out and setting the pace, setting the tone for the rest of the game."
When Alvin Gentry was asked about the quick 5-man substitution following halftime: "Well, yeah. The first group wasn't going to play, and if you're not going to play we're going to have other guys in the game.