The NBA Is SLEEPING On The Pelicans

The NBA Is SLEEPING On The Pelicans

Imagine having a player on your team that can do this the crossover man oh man now imagine if there were two players on your team that could do that let’s see what the P could do clear P look out uhoh yeah that’s the problem the NBA has when facing the New

Orleans Pelicans and that problem goes a lot deeper than just two stars that can throw down highlight plays those two stars are also surrounded by some of the best role players in the entire NBA Kyrie On The Run blocked Away by herb not on herb now her Jones is a

Different animal now not on herb and I think everyone knows the Pelicans have a talented roster but no one seems to be taking them all that seriously are you convinced that this version of Zion and the Pelicans can make a real playoff push hell no and this has nothing to do

With performance or stats and everything to do with reputation which is fine but I mean to tell you the Pelicans are the real deal and shouldn’t be taken lightly don’t just take my word for it the stats are pretty evident not only are they 13 games above 500 but probably the best

Measurement of how good a team is particularly this late in a season is their combination of offensive and defensive rating well the Pelicans are top 10 in both and just to put this into perspective this is the average of each Championship team’s offensive and defensive rating since 2017

And then there’s New Orleans but none of this matters if they can’t beat good competition right well the only teams with better records against above 500 competition are the Celtics Timberwolves Thunder bucks and nuggets and by no means saying you should drop everything and consider them Championship favorites

But this is no fluke I mean any team with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram is going to be pretty damn good because it’s almost guaranteed one of them is going to deliver on a nightly basis just look at one of their recent wins against Indiana in which bi put on an absolute

Show going off for 348 and six 19 of which came in the first quarter just look at him on this play using the JV screen to get nay Smith on his back before then side stepping to the right to create extra separation and the jump shot is about as pure as it could

Possibly get and nay Smith was just struggling to guard him in general because after hitting another midi in his face this time be backed him down before looking as though he was going to hit the fade away but instead stepping through and laying it in or in this play

Against halber who is just food for be let’s be honest he backs him down naysmith comes to help and herb is actually a bit slow to relocate which gives bi no choice but to spin Baseline away from the double and hit the beautiful fade away but he wasn’t done

Cooking because look at him in transition checkon go to the hole again and we’ve only seen bi in a playoff setting once but in those six games he played against the number one seated Suns without Zion next to him and put up 27 6 and six on great efficiency

Allstar all NBA level numbers without his co-star who is also having a really good season yeah I know people think he’s fallen off a cliff because his scoring numbers have gone down but that’s a very short-sighted take to have honestly it’s a testament to his versatility that he has changed his game

To accommodate a more rounded Supporting Cast averaging a career high in assists on a career low turnovers just look at one of his recent games against the Bulls in which he recorded 11 assists eight of which resulted in three pointers look at him on this play he has

Drummond isolated on an island he drives left which forces dumu to dig and opens up a wide openen three for Matt Ryan or this time it’s Zion in the post this time Kobe white comes over to help and again again Matt Ryan is the beneficiary and right here are two perfect examples

Of why Zion is averaging more assists and less points per game the defense is intent on stopping him scoring forcing the likes of Matt Ryan trigger Trey and Herb to knock down the threes that he creates with his gravity and you have to give props to Zion cuz he’s more than

Willing to go games without scoring at a high rate having 10 games this season in which he’s taken 11 or less sh which might sound concerning but in those 10 games the pills are seven and three just showing the versatility of their offense but when Zion wants to score he’s still

More than capable just look at him on this play bring the ball up the floor he hits kuso with a filthy crossover before then finishing through the contact of Nicola vich just think about that he’s too quick for Alex kuso and then too strong for Nicola vich or how about here

Where he gets the hand off from Z before freezing McGee with a between the legs d and then Crossing back left let’s not forget just who Zion is as a scorer since 2019 the only players to average at least 20 points per game on 51% efficiency a yic embiid yanis KD Lebron

Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson only two of those players haven’t won MVPs and people can talk about how all of these Buckets come at The Rim but the reality is the only way to stop that is to throw multiple Defenders at him and former wall which is why it’s so

Important that you were seeing the development in his playmaking and the development of his Supporting Cast in particular Herbert kesan Jones who is the Pelicans third best player that’s not a slide on CJ McCullum it’s just a fact and that’s what happens when you combine a late defense with some

Incredibly efficient and smart offensive play most people are familiar with herb as a defensive player or at least you should be but offensively the the improvements he’s made this year have been incredible going from a shooting liability at times to a 43% three-point shooter and it was all done through

Working this is what herb said about teams leaving him open last season I never played against anybody that would just not guard me there was nobody else to point the finger at but myself I just had to go in and work on my weaknesses and now whenever teams decide to send

Help at Zion or bi they’re gambling off a 43% three-point shooter in herb Jones who’s not only capable of knocking down open threes but if you close out aggressively he’s got size and athleticism to take you off the dribble and finish at The Rim like here where

Dyson kicks it out to him he recognizes the size Advantage so he just drives straight to the rim and finishes now the offensive improvements he has made make this team a legit force in the playoffs because it means you have to guard him or give up open shots to a currently

Elite shooter but let’s not look lose sight of what makes herb the third best player on this team it’s his truly Elite defense with herb Jones on the floor the Pelican’s defensive rating is seven points better and it’s because he does absolutely everything from blocking three-point shots to getting in the

Passing Lanes to most importantly consistently shutting down opposition Stars which is going to be hugely important come playoff time just look at him on this play guarding Trey Young on the inbound pass Hunter and capella both set screens to get Trey free herb recovers before somehow avoiding fouling

Him on the jump shot swiping the ball away and this is what he does so well which is turn those defensive stops into transition buckets well how about this play which is just truly special he follows Clay on this handoff JV steps up so he knows Clay is going to have to

Force the pass into Jackson Davis so herb then slides over and blocks the 6′ 10 big at The Rim yeah pretty decent being able to guard play Thompson off a handoff and in the same play block an extremely athletic Rim rolling big but what makes this Pelicans team such a

Threat is the fact you have an elite Trio of herb Zion and bi but in addition to that you have two guys that can hit seven or eight threes On Any Given night or in the case of Trey Murphy sometimes he can do it nearly every night when he

Gets hot just look at his recent 4 game stretch where he knocked down 243 including 10 against Toronto and I think we were all expecting a breakout season from Trey but the injury he had in the pre-season definitely derailed some of that however if this is what you’re

Getting consistently from your Sixth Man the league is in trouble because not only does he hit regular catch and shoot threes Trey can hit them from the parking lot he can also take you off the dribble and get to the rack as a 6’9 forward with great athleticism and then

There’s CJ McCullum who has been a professional scorer he’s entire career shooting 41% from three anyways if you made it to the end of the video a like would be greatly appreciated subscribe to the channel for more content like this either way have a great day bye

Do the pels deserve more respect?