Rod Walker: Time running out for inconsistent Pelicans to find what they’ll need to make playoffs

Sometimes they do.

Sometimes they don’t.

Take this past Sunday, for example, when they manhandled the Portland Trail Blazers.

“It’s fun to watch those guys play the way they did,” Green said after that victory. “That’s opportunity. When it comes knocking, we want to take advantage of it. Tonight was a step in the right direction.”

Two nights later, they took two steps back, getting blasted at home by the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans, in a meaningful game as far as tiebreakers, lacked any urgency and trailed 14-0 to start the game and then 75-40 at the intermission, the worst halftime deficit in franchise history. Considering how high the stakes were, the Pelicans couldn’t have put forth a more embarrassing performance.

“We have to play with a better spirit to start games,” Green said after that debacle. “It’s constantly coming in here saying that. When we don’t start with a sense of urgency and play fast and play with force, it demoralizes our spirit. We have to somehow, someway, figure that out.”

This is their best chance to figure it out. After the two games in Houston, they play winnable home games against the San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets. The schedule gets brutal after that with a West Coast trip to play the Los Angeles Clippers, Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and conference leader Denver Nuggets.

Simply put, things aren’t going to get any easier for the Pelicans than these next few games. They know it. It’s why the team’s practice ran longer than normal Wednesday. Perhaps they can fix some of the glitches that have shown up lately, particularly on the defensive end.

“I think our execution, or lack thereof, in the games has played a factor,” CJ McCollum said. “If you know a guy is a shooter and he’s still getting 3s off, that’s a problem. You have to figure out how not to give up and-ones. We’ve got to do the little stuff first and foremost in walkthrough and practice and then carry it over into games. I think it’s a combination of things. Some of it you can control, some of it you can’t. We’ve got to focus on what we can control, which is game-plan discipline, executing and making it a halfcourt game. Those things matter.”