Although the New Orleans Pelicans roster may look incredibly similar to the one that opened training camp a year ago, a palatable difference is swirling in the air. There’s a more purposeful give a damn than I can remember feeling in any previous start to a season.
Excitement, hope and positivity are present at all media day sessions, but in addition to these usual emotions, a real chip has been observed sitting on multiple shoulders in New Orleans. More importantly though, there’s evidence that much-needed changes have been implemented since April’s play-in loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Zion Williamson, typically one of the most jovial spirits in any room, is walking around with a razor-sharp focus, along with a chiseled-looking body.
“He just looks focused,” Willie Green said after yesterday’s first training camp practice. “You guys heard him in this press conference, but he’s been here a bit during this summer, hanging with his family, popped in the gym a few times as well and got some work in with some of his teammates. His focus is going to be a big part of him being able to have a productive season. So far, so good.”
Williamson made drastic changes to his offseason regiment, hiring trainers and others to help prepare for the rigors of an NBA campaign. In addition, he spent more time in the city than in previous summers, working with team staff at the Metairie practice facility.
“I worked on movements, staying in New Orleans for a good part of the summer working with the Pelicans and being on the same page with them and my personal trainers,” Williamson said on media day. “But just really locking into every aspect of my body.”
The medical staff, a much-maligned group that underwent changes in personnel and hierarchy over the summer, is already being praised by players.
“Amy and I have been working a lot together because she is the head of PT,” Trey Murphy said. “The day after surgery, I was doing physical therapy. Her and I were talking a lot. We’ve been getting a lot of work done in New Orleans. She’s been great. I’m very thankful to have her here. I’m very excited for my recovery process…I’ve put my full trust in her.”
Amy Atmore was recently hired as the team’s director of rehabilitation. She, along with Tom Maystadt, the head trainer, and Daniel Bove, the director of sports and performance, will act as the primary decision-makers, coined “a three-headed monster,” by David Griffin, about players’ health.
Previously, Aaron Nelson was given the most discretion about such matters, but he’s been moved into a new advisory role.
Another change is Trajan Langdon will deal directly with the medical team from the front office on a day-to-day basis.
“Trajan is actually going to be the one on a day-to-day basis that’s the key component of the medical team from our front office staff,” David Griffin said. “He’ll be the one handling that. I’m already excited by the changes that have been made there because of it.
“I think when you have a former player in a position like that, they bring a certain level of passion to it that’s different. And a big part of that was listening a whole lot more, being less dogmatic and more willing to be flexible.”
Then there’s the offense which lagged well behind the defense, finishing last season a disappointing 20th in the Association. James Borrego was brought on board as an associate head coach of the Pelicans to address a number of the issues and find ways to be more effective and efficient.
“He comes to the game with an offensive lens that I just felt we needed — I felt I needed,” Willie Green said on media day. “I think he’s going to be a huge component in elevating our program, especially on the offensive end.”
The Pelicans have said they want to lead the league in assists. They finished 11th in that category last season. In his final year at the helm in Charlotte, Borrego directed the Hornets to a league-best 28.1 assists per game.
Behind the scenes, a premium has been placed on creating and shooting corner 3s, one of the most desired shots in basketball. The Pelicans lagged well behind the competition in those attempts last season, finishing ahead of only the Rockets, Magic and Spurs.
There remains a desire to play with greater tempo, to push the ball at every opportunity.
“It’s just a matter of some tweaks and adjustments that we feel can make us a better team,” Green said. “Look, we want to play fast offensively. There’s no secret, I said it last year, my first season here, we want to put teams on their heels. We want to get out and run, we want to attack the basket, we want to get to the free throw line. We can be better at being confident at taking catch-and-shoot 3s — and making them.”
Of course, other holes have been identified as well. For instance, in order for the Pelicans to play smaller — there’s an expectation Zion will be utilized at the center position, the team will have to become more effective at holding opponents to one shot attempt per possession.
“I think that’s an area we weren’t at our best, especially when we were running small 1-5,” Green said yesterday. “It’s something we talked about right away, how important it is for us to secure rebounds. Our defense was top 6, but the Oklahoma game that we lost, they had 25 second-chance points, or something like that.”
Although they posted their first winning campaign in the last five years, the New Orleans Pelicans fell well short of their goal last season, failing to make the playoffs. The feeling is it was a solid year, but a lot of unfinished business was left on the table. So the organization talked amongst themselves, listened to their players, and in turn, everyone took ownership to improve the situation.
“Griff and I had a number of discussions this summer about our strengths and our weaknesses and what we can do to be better,” Green said on media day. “I feel like we’ve all done a great job of making adjustments to putting people around us, listening to our players. But then, now it’s time to go out and do it. I try to be very careful when I get up here of talking a whole bunch about what we’re going to do. We’ve got to put in the work. And that’s the key.”
The Pelicans, both the players and the franchise, put in requisite work during the offseason. Now everyone must maintain that trend throughout the 2023-24 campaign, but at the very least, fans should feel the team is better positioned today to handle any adversity when it strikes than when it did a year ago.
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Zion looks like he means business. If Pels can stay healthy, and that’s a big if, I feel we could be top 4. We have the talent. The coaches just have to utilize it in right way with proper adjustments. The one thing that I worry about is we get burned on PNR like past few years. If we can contain PNR and stop penetration (while creating it on offensive end) we should be fine
The Pelicans have the talent to finish in the top 6, thereby avoiding the play-in tournament, or worse. But as you alluded to, there’s probably not a team that’s a bigger question mark in terms of health. We know injuries are going to occur, but can they not derail this squad for a change? Not only do you want to see your stars play 60+ games, it would be nice if the rest of the squad could consistently pick up the slack when someone invariably sits. The Pels did a good job of that before the New Year last season, but then everyone fell off a cliff afterwards. Avoid that cliff!!