When James Borrego was brought on board as an associate head coach, the New Orleans Pelicans were destined to make changes to the offense. The only question remaining was, how different would things eventually look? It’s only preseason, but early returns point to a more lethal scoring unit taking better advantage of its strengths.
So in tonight’s matchup against the Houston Rockets, and in the remaining two preseason games thereafter, viewers should pay particular attention to the results in three key areas.
Playing With Tempo
With a dynamic locomotive like Zion Williamson driving the offense, pushing tempo at every turn is a logical route. Opposing defenses should be given less time to get set and build a wall, similar to how the Milwaukee Bucks contained Williamson last season.
In addition, statistics have always supported the theory that teams should attempt to launch shots earlier in the shot clock rather than later.
The Pelicans finished 16th in pace (99.58) last season. It proved to be a small improvement but a step in the right direction over the 98.02 pace recorded in Willie Green’s inaugural year.
While the Pelicans ran at a 104.5 pace in Tuesday’s 122-105 loss to the Orlando Magic, an examination of only the first half, where the team enjoyed 56 possessions — a 112.0 pace for the game — is more pertinent. None of the regular starters stepped foot in the second half, thereby skewing the numbers.
“A really good first half offensively,” Willie Green said after Wednesday’s practice. “We haven’t put in a lot of sets so more flow offense for us. The ball was moving. We were rebounding the ball, getting out, pushing out, running, getting easy looks. I think our offensive rating in the first half was 123, so a lot of positives on the offensive end.”
No one should expect for the Pelicans to maintain close to a 112.0 pace in the 2023-24 regular season — teams are obviously more determined to slow opponents down in games that count, for instance — but hovering near the top of the league should be the goal.
For good reference, the Golden State Warriors led all counterparts last season with a 102.54 pace.
Working the Offensive Boards
The Pelicans have made it no secret that they want to crash the offensive glass more often. Against the Magic, they tallied 17 offensive rebounds. Even players who normally do not chase offensive boards left their mark.
“We want to create opportunities where we get extra possessions,” Green said. “Good to see us go to the glass and convert them. We want to keep teams off the glass, but yet still we want to be able to crash, especially from the corners, from ours wings, and we saw some of that.”
Brandon Ingram, Kyra Lewis Jr. and Dyson Daniels all had a putback each in the first half against the Magic. The Pelicans turned those 17 offensive rebounds into 22 second chance points.
The Pelicans averaged 10.6 offensive rebounds (13th) and 13.8 second chance points (14th) last season.
Offensive rebounds can do more than just keep possessions alive and improve odds of putting points on the boards. They can help defensively too.
“We just believe that it can stop teams from getting in transition,” Green said. “It gives us extra possessions offensively. We’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. That keeps teams out of transition. That kind of hurt us last night. But overall, I thought good job of crashing the glass from our wings.”
Utilizing the Three
The Pelicans were dreadful from 3-point range last season in terms of attempts (30.1 3PA), notably trailing more modern-orientated offenses like the Warriors and Boston Celtics. Simple math dictates that if teams cannot score points efficiently elsewhere they put themselves at a distinct disadvantage.
In Tuesday’s loss to the Magic, the Pelicans attempted 19 3-pointers, good for a pace of 38 long-balls for the game. CJ McCollum led the starters with six attempts, with Ingram and Herb Jones adding three apiece.
Those results were music to the New Orleans head coach’s ears.
“I do,” a smiling Green said in response to McCollum’s six 3-point attempts. “As long as he’s getting up good ones, we want him shooting. Probably in that area of seven-eight 3-pointers a game. Him and B.I. Mostly catch and shoot, but he’ll shoot a few off the dribble as well.
“The beauty in it is I thought it came off generating from our offense, getting into the paint. Rim pressure leads to kick-out 3s. That’s something we’re implementing this season.”
Who: Houston Rockets (1-0) vs New Orleans Pelicans (0-1)
When: October 12, 7:00 PM CT
Where to watch: Pelicans.com/App, NBA League Pass
Where to listen: WRNO 99.5
For more Pelicans talk, subscribe to The Bird Calls podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @OlehKosel
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