The New Orleans Pelicans came into this season with a message reverberating from the Big Easy-based front office all the way to Birmingham Squadron practices. Willie Green's revamped coaching staff added James Borrego in an attempt to boost both the quality and quantity of the team's three-point opportunities. CJ McCollum heard the directive loud and clear, and the change in shot diet has gotten the 11-year veteran back into NBA All-Star conversations.
McCollum is not the only player to benefit from bombing away more frequently. Larry Nance Jr., Jose Alvarado, Naji Marshall, Herb Jones, and Jonas Valanciunas are all posting career highs in attempts per game and/or success rate this season. Green's squad has a clearly defined three-point shooting hierarchy, and, in effect, may have let loose the NBA's deepest stable of shooters. The Golden State Warriors were the most recent victims of a 33-point beatdown by the Pelicans, on national television no less.
“We've just been doing a great job of executing the game plan,” McCollum shared in Golden State. “It starts with how we defend, getting off to good starts in that first quarter. Defending at a high level, taking advantage in transition, playing inside-out, sharing the ball, doing the little things that are necessary to win on the road, and not giving up second-chance opportunities. Then you have to make a lot of threes, especially with the way the league is today. I think we've been doing all of those things collectively.”
Pelicans emphasize right player, right shot
The Pelicans coaching staff wants everyone to take open three-point attempts. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is on a two-way contract but was given the green light to fire away in the closing minutes a few weeks ago. Fellow two-way'er Matt Ryan was given the same encouragement before being sidelined with an elbow injury. But that's not to say there is not a hierarchy. The team values the way Jonas Valanciunas can space the floor but the big man has to make the extra pass if Trey Murphy III or CJ McCollum are available.
McCollum (7.9), Murphy III (6.7), Brandon Ingram (3.8), and rookie Jordan Hawkins (5.6) get up 22-24 three-pointers per game collectively when all are available. Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, Naji Marshall, and Dyson Daniels are good for 2-4 each depending on the matchups. Getting 10-12 good looks per game off the bench helps Green's rotations tremendously, especially when made at an above-average clip.
Kira Lewis Jr.'s days are numbered in New Orleans as he is down to 10.5% from beyond the arc. Daniels (29.7%) is the only other player under 30%. Cody Zeller and Zion Williamson are both hitting at a 33.3% rate. Hawkins (37.1), Jones (36.7), and Ingram (35.3) are hovering around the league average. Murphy (40.6), Marshall (38.9), Alvarado (38.4), and Valaniunas (38.0) are good bets to make opponents pay.
In fact, the Pelicans have the best three-point shooting percentage over the last 15 games. Unfortunately, New Orleans is still a bottom-five team on volume. Green's stated goal is 35-40 per night. Thankfully, an end to Murphy's minutes restriction should boost the team up closer to the league average. The next step for an unproven playoff team is getting the right player the right shot consistently.
“We've just got to put together good days. We've got goals we want to accomplish collectively,” McCollum said. “Winning on the road is a part of the process. Beating teams under .500 is a part of the process. Then it's continue to play at a high level when you're playing teams over .500 so this will be a good road trip for us. This will be a good month for us to kind of see where we are at to gauge what we need to improve on and continue to get better.”
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