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The New Orleans Pelicans know their weaknesses with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram leading the way. A failure to close out games after holding leads in the fourth quarter and a lack of three-pointers led to another NBA Play-In Tournament gauntlet. The Pelicans survived but got swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of last year's playoffs. Coach Willie Green did not shy away from questions on those issues hindering this squad's postseason hopes yet again.
Getting Williamson and Ingram to focus on defense and foist up a few more shots from beyond the arc is just the start. Finding the right roles for sharpshooters CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, and Jordan Hawkins will go a long way in creating space for Williamson.
It all starts at the top, though. Green is still getting used to seeing some of those three-pointers as good possessions in the same way Ingram is finding comfort in taking them.
“I hate to be one of the guys talking about when I played but you know just growing up coaches would always tell us, ‘Don’t let them off the hook',” Green recalled. “It was because cause you’re wide open for three and it’s like that’s not letting them off the hook. It's wide open.”
So what is the new message now that Green is a coach?
“(As a player) I've got to work on that shot and I've got to be able to make it,” Green stated. “For me (as a coach), it's about becoming more comfortable with knowing that those are great looks for us. Those are quality shots. It's having our guards prepared to take those shots and take them with confidence. When they miss a couple I got to still be okay with that because, over the course of the season, it’s proven that we’re a pretty good three-point team.”
Pelicans can't stick with close-out status quo
The Pelicans lost over a dozen games last year after holding a fourth-quarter lead. More than a handful of double-digit cushions were squandered, costing New Orleans a top-six Western Conference spot. Williamson and Ingram's offensive fit with the Pelicans is just the start of the scouting report. Finding a way those two can function on defense without leaking buckets is a Big Deal in the Big Easy.
“It is definitely a focus,” Green stressed. “It starts with me talking to the team and having the responsibility of knowing that is an area where I need to improve. It's an area we have to get on the floor and work on constantly…The more we can identify what our problems are, the more we can solve them. For me, it's getting out in front of it. Letting (the Pelicans) know, this is where we are.”
Green knows the blueprint for beating the Pelicans was made public last season. There are larger trends at play too, which will dictate how New Orleans knocks heads with other Western Conference contenders.
“When you look at end-of-game scenarios against the top teams, they are just hunting a matchup,” Green explained. “The primetime players are watching the film. They are trying to figure out who can I take advantage of offensively. I think that's definitely becoming a big part of those end-of-game scenarios.
“You have some teams that will put their best defender on the weakest offensive player. They'll go roam and help to force the ball to go to that player. You have some teams that do the opposite and it is just preference. It's (based on) what you what on and what your principles are, what your concepts are…It is going to be a group effort moving the needle in that area.”
Ingram popping off 40% from three-point range in a contract year opens up the offense and an ownership group's wallets. Williamson becoming a hunter instead of being the hunted would certainly move the needle toward some All-NBA votes. Paired together the Pelicans can expect a playoff run.
