During his introductory press conference, New Orleans Pelicans head coach Stan Van Gundy had a lot of good things to say about point guard Lonzo Ball.
Van Gundy, who left his TNT job to become the Pelicans' new tactician, believes Ball may be the best in the league at advancing the ball and allowing his teammates to play in transition, per Will Guillory of The Athletic.
SVG says Lonzo Ball may be the best in the league at advancing the ball and allowing his teammates to play in transition.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) October 27, 2020
The Pelicans are hoping that Stan Van Gundy can be the guy who takes Lonzo Ball's game to the next level. In his first season with New Orleans in 2019-20, Ball averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 63 games while shooting 40.3 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and 56.6 percent from the free-throw line.
With the Los Angeles Lakers and Pelicans, Ball has shown he's a tremendous passer and defender. However, the former No. 2 overall pick must improve his shooting splits if NOLA aspires to make the playoffs in 2020-21. A team's starting point guard can't be shooting 40.3 percent overall and below 60.0 percent from the free-throw line under any circumstances.
The Pelicans missed the playoffs in 2020 after playing terribly at Walt Disney World during the seeding games. In the post-Anthony Davis era, New Orleans is building the franchise around Ball, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Jrue Holiday.
Van Gundy has a career coaching record of 523-384 in the regular season with the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons. He's also 48-43 in the postseason.
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