Brandon Ingram was fantastic in the New Orleans Pelicans' 130-108 demolition of the Brooklyn Nets on the road Wednesday night and it's CJ McCollum who'd be the first to tell everyone that.  After the game, McCollum called Brandon Ingram a “monster” for the dominant play of his teammate.

Ingram led all Pelican scorers with 28 points. He was so efficient from the field, making 10-of-17 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers on four attempts. Brandon Ingram also came away with seven rebounds, five assists, and a block. He did have four turnovers but still ended up with a plus-minus of +24. As for CJ McCollum, he put up 21 points with six assists and three steals while going 7 of 16 from the floor.

The Pelicans could not have had a louder start to their 2022-23 NBA campaign, as they embarrassed a loaded Nets team that has the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons. Ingram has always been compared to Durant, so it was also fitting that the two led their respective teams in scoring, with Durant pouring in a game-high 32 points.

The sample size is still small, but Brandon Ingram and the Pelicans do look like world-beaters after Day 1. Zion Williamson is a huge difference-maker for the team and it showed right in his very first game back from injury. The Pelicans shot nearly 50 percent from the field and over 46.2 percent from behind the arc.

The Pelicans will play one more game on the road this Friday against the Charlotte Hornets before making their home opener on Sunday versus the Utah Jazz.