James Borrego did not soften the diagnosis. The New Orleans Pelicans had just been outplayed by the Portland Trail Blazers in a game they were genuinely in for large stretches, and the Pelicans head coach pointed straight at the ball.
"They had pressure in the first half, and just poor decisions, sloppy play, poor third quarter — we just turned it over too much," Borrego said. "Second chance points. I think they finished with 50 points off turnovers and second chance points combined. Basically about 50 points and that cost us. But the most disappointing was the turnovers in that third quarter, obviously on the board. We have to be better there. We're battling, but just some careless, costly turnovers in the third quarter that just led to easy points."
It is the sort of math that doesn't lie. Fifty points of unearned offence in a single game is nearly impossible to erase, and Borrego made clear the damage was inflicted by his team, not forced by Portland's half-court defence.
"Our half-court defence — I think we had a decent hold of what they were trying to do offensively," Borrego said. "You've got to finish with the board, but we were fuelling their offence with silly turnovers."
Where the coach did find encouragement was at the rookie end of his rotation. With a depleted roster and a long runway toward the offseason, New Orleans has leaned on young players to make up the minutes, and Borrego pulled out specific names when asked about the response.
"We had the three rookies out there. There was a great lineup with them," Borrego said. "Fears was great. Queen — that's probably some of the best basketball I've seen them play together. Really proud of that group for responding. Obviously EPV gave us some minutes off the bench, but Fears and Queen were a big part of us just staying in that game, building momentum, giving us a chance. I thought they were fantastic."
Borrego went further on the broader trajectory of Jeremiah Fears, who has started to stack consistent games together since a rotational adjustment earlier in the year.
"That's a good sign. He's putting a great case together," Borrego said. "That's what development and growth is about. He's just stacking high-quality games together. He's impacting winning. His effort defensively is there, and he's making big plays for us offensively. His pace, his kick-aheads, decision-making is really slowing down for him. Making big shots, taking big shots. Really proud of his growth. He's really responded at a high level since the move."
For a Pelicans season that has not gone the way the front office drew it up, the coaching staff is pulling meaningful signal out of the games that remain. Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears are the sort of players a rebuilding team can build around, and Borrego's postgame spotlight suggests both rookies are trending in the right direction.
New Orleans will keep absorbing losses like Wednesday's. But the head coach left no doubt about the through-line he wants attached to this stretch of the schedule: the turnovers have to stop, and the young core that showed up in the second half is the group he wants to see more of on the floor.
