In the thick of things, the Pelicans want to get up through defense
Three wins and seven losses. Either the balance sheet of Pelicans in three weeks and the transition to the new year. Far from ideal for a team still fighting for first place in the Western Conference at the end of December. And who sees some of his pursuers approaching…
Except for this: since then, Zion Williamson has injured his hamstrings and won’t be back until (at least) the end of January, while Brandon Ingram continues to be embarrassed by his finger for nearly two months. Inevitably, without the two All-Stars, life is just more complicated in Louisiana…
” Our thought is that the next player in the rotation always needs to step up their game, but it’s always good to have two All-Stars in the rotation. On a night off, you’re around 40 points and you’ll get at least 40 points from those two… “, so remembered Trey Murphy III.
Don’t panic and start off on the right foot defensively
Exactly, the whole problem for New Orleans lies in the fact that the famous “no nights” have increased recently. The latest example: this third straight loss by at least 10 points, which occurred Friday night in Orlando.
With the defense again in dire straits, as it has been 13 games since the men of Willie Green never scored less than 100 points (116.9 on average!). Hardly encouraging, for a team that still has the 8th most efficient defense in the league (111.6 points conceded per 100 possessions).
” We must find our defensive identity “, believes the coach of NOLA. ” Currently, we are not defending at the level where we can defend. These are things we can control. We can decide, as a team, to defend better, but we haven’t done it yet. »
A group that is always united
A feeling shared by Trey Murphy III, especially regretting the Pelicans’ lack of intensity on this side of the field.
” Opponents must feel that we are there, they must feel our defensive pressure “The boy behind will judge.” We’re built that way: putting pressure on the ball, forcing turnovers and being a good defensive team, together. We definitely need to do better in this area. »
Still, Trey Murphy III is pleased with one thing: even when it’s tough together, the New Orleans players stay united and keep their cool, thanks to their experience last season.
” Coming together, I think that’s the most important thing “, he added. “ We went through this a lot last season, when we lost a lot of games in a row. But we never split as a group and we stayed together, not blaming each other. I think that’s what helped us and pushed us into the playoffs. So, as long as we continue like this, everything will be fine for us. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | p.d | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Zion Williamson | 29 | 33.0 | 60.8 | 36.8 | 71.4 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 26.0 |
| Cj McCollum | 41 | 35.1 | 43.1 | 39.7 | 79.2 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 21.3 |
| Brandon Ingram | 15 | 32.1 | 47.2 | 46.7 | 86.8 | 0.5 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 20.8 |
| Jonas Valanciunas | 46 | 25.2 | 54.0 | 36.7 | 83.1 | 2.8 | 6.9 | 9.8 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 14.9 |
| Trey Murphy III | 43 | 29.0 | 48.3 | 39.8 | 92.7 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 12.7 |
| Naji Marshall | 43 | 25.1 | 43.6 | 33.3 | 79.8 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 10.5 |
| Herb Jones | 30 | 27.7 | 43.4 | 30.5 | 75.3 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 10.0 |
| Jose Alvarado | 45 | 21.8 | 41.0 | 34.0 | 79.4 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 9.4 |
| Larry Nance, Jr. | 36 | 22.3 | 61.4 | 38.5 | 66.7 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 7.5 |
| Willy Hernangomez | 22 | 11.8 | 52.1 | 16.7 | 78.1 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 4.6 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 6.9 |
| Jackson Hayes | 26 | 13.4 | 53.3 | 14.3 | 64.6 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 5.1 |
| Devonte Graham | 46 | 15.1 | 35.0 | 32.9 | 75.5 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 5.0 |
| Kira Lewis, Jr. | 6 | 7.7 | 50.0 | 40.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 4.7 |
| Dyson Daniels | 37 | 20.0 | 43.8 | 33.9 | 59.3 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 4.4 |
| Garrett Temple | 15 | 7.6 | 41.9 | 42.1 | 75.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
| Dereon Seabron | 4 | 1.9 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
