Preseason Game 1- What to Expect

The NBA is back! In a normal year, we would already be 2 months in and most likely complaining how the team is underperforming. But this is 2020, and nothing is normal.

It looks like we will have to wait and see the debuts of Eric Bledsoe, Wenyen Gabriel and possibly Steven Adams as they will most likely sit for tonight’s pre-season tilt with the Miami Hit. But everyone else is geared up and ready to go. SVG in his presser yesterday stated that starters will look to get around 30 minutes tonight, which I love to hear. I am also excited to watch the 13th overall pick Kira Lewis make his debut. I have heard GREAT things about him and what he has shown so far in camp. Another player that is not being talked about enough is Willy Hernangomez. I have heard he has had a great camp and he might steal away minutes from Jaxson Hayes if he keeps knocking down open shots.

SVG is not messing around. His 2 a days have been intense mainly focusing on defense. He has talked the talk and walked the walk. You can tell SVG has a clear plan and direction and no body is going to get in his way. Last year we talked about changing the culture of this franchise. This year SVG isn’t just talking about changing the culture, he ISchanging the culture.

This is what you should expect on both sides of the ball tonight:

Offense

For the past 5 years it was the same song and dance. Jack up a ton of 3’s, be careless with the basketball, have flow with the offense and shoot early in the shot clock. The Pelicans were a top 15 offense every year and put up monster numbers on the offensive side. Unfortunately, this did not translate to wins. We turned the ball over at an alarming rate, we played no defense and most of the time the shot selection was poor.

Enter, Stan Van Gundy. Stan is going to implement an offense that is literally the polar opposite of Alvin Gentry. With SVG, there will be more set plays and more driving and kicking to shooters. We will cut down on turnovers and we will also take more efficient shots. There will be less transitional stuff and more half court stuff. You will rarely see us get the ball out of the net and zoom down to the other end, shoot a contested 27-footer with 18 seconds left on the shot clock and then jog back on defense. Unlike Gentry, SVG will expect great shot selection which I think is important with a young team. I think Gentry let everyone play as fast as possible which led to very undisciplined basketball.

That is another thing you will see less of. The Pelicans will take their time on offense. During Gentry Ball, the idea was to get quickest shot possible, not the best shot possible. Gentry wanted a ton of 3’s and he wanted pace. SVG is going to take his time down the court, get the best shot possible and get to the rim more. You will also see more attacking from Point Guards and Wings. I think the Pelicans will LIVE at the Free Throw line under SVG. Between Bledsoe, BI and Zion, those guys are going to be aggressive and get fouled A TON.

Defense

You will actually see the Pelicans play defense this year. In the last 2 years, they allowed 112 points per 100 possessions a game. They were in the bottom 3rd in that category back to back years. When it was nut cutting time, they could never get a stop. Alvin did not really care for defensive stops, he just cared about offensive efficiency.

Once again, Stan Van Gundy is the polar opposite. He is going to DEMAND that players play defense. If you are not going to play defense, you will simply sit and watch your replacement play defense. I will tell you this, the Pelicans are going to struggle the first month or two defensively and that is ok. There are two players that HAVE to be better defensively this year, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

Remember, this is still one of the youngest teams defensively so they might not understand defensive schemes just yet, but I also don’t think they learned anything from Gentry defensively last year. I think Zion and BI still have a very long way to go, but there is hope for these two.

Zion still can’t grasp the concept of simple defensive rotations. If you watch Zion defensively, he is very lazy. He is rarely in a stance, does a horrible job communicating and should be a WAY better rebounder than what his stats say. He was just so athletic at Duke; he could get away with this. In the NBA it is a much different story. I am going to say this again, but I think Zion will be really bad in the beginning, which will lead to being subbed out at times and a little bit of friction between SVG and himself, but Zion will put up great defensive numbers by the end of the year. I expect him to pull down double digit rebounds a game and become a shot blocker like he was at Duke.

This one game against Dallas says it all about Zions effort defensively. At this point, Seth Curry has 25 points and is absolutely lighting up NOLA. In a possession game, with 38 seconds left, this is how Zion plays defense? How do you lose Curry at this juncture in the game?? This CAN’T happen anymore.

BI gets complacent way too much on the defensive end. He has admitted that he needs to work on his defensive game in the offseason. With a brand-new contract, and him having the keys to this franchise, I expect big things from BI.

With his length, size and quickness, BI should be able to guard 1-4. A perfect example is Kevin Durant. KD in OKC was told to just score, but when he went to Golden State he was told he had to play defense as well. KD became an absolute problem on the defensive side of the ball. He could switch 1-5 and the Warriors would not bat an eyelash. With KD buying in defensively, they could unleash their “Death Lineup” in which they would go small and demolish opponents. That is why they were one of the greatest offensive and defensive teams ever assembled, because KD bought in. Why can’t Brandon Ingram do the same thing? He ripped down a career high 7 rebounds last year, but I thought too many times he was caught sleeping on the defensive end. He should be a guy that when we go small (Zion being the 5 and BI being the 4) we should be able to get stops. This will take time, but Gentry never demanded this. SVG will, and everyone will be better off.

If BI and Zion can make progress defensively, this is a playoff team, mark my words. I am just so glad that Pelicans basketball is back, and you should be too!