The New Orleans Pelicans Are The NBA’s Best Kept Secret
The New Orleans Pelicans have quietly been the best kept secret in the NBA I’m not sure whether they’re not being talked about more as a potential title Contender but we’re going to get into all that in this video but essentially this team honestly when healthy doesn’t really have many weaknesses and quite
Frankly they’ve been pretty healthy all season because you know Zion has been healthy for the majority of the season I know the Pelicans are kind of managing his minutes and and workload here and there but this team has finally been healthy and we’re seeing the fruits of
That we’re seeing the results of this team mesh together well right they’re big three of CJ McCollum Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram finally healthy and I know that you know in a video by six man he went kind of over this a little bit but essentially you said right this team
Is a championship Contender specifically because of their stats in the sense that they are top 10 in both offense and defense and that is usually the biggest indicator that a team could possibly win a championship in any given season right if they’re top 10 in offense and defense
That is usually a pretty good sign that they could win a championship so I want to get into that in this video because like I said this team just doesn’t really have much weaknesses right you look at their star power like I said with Ingram with Williamson with McCullum there’s not really any
Weaknesses there right all these guys can kind of play off each other they work very well together and then there’re Supporting Cast right you got guys like Trey Murphy herb Jones Jose Alvarado you know rookie Jordan Hawkins Jonas Valen chunis this bench is really deep as well right you got guys like
Dyson Daniel so this team is pretty much everything you need right they got vets they got star power they got some really good youth on this team they got pretty much all their draft picks too by the way that’s a whole other thing and given
All that this team is in a really good position not just for this season but at least for the next five six seven maybe even eight nine you know 10 years down the road because these stars are so young now mcum obviously he’s probably you know one of the oldest guys on this
Team and you know in a sense he doesn’t kind of fit the timeline I guess of Ingram and McCullum just from an age perspective but at least McCullum right can he can grow alongside these guys at least for the rest of his career I would
Hope and I hope he’s in the Pelicans the rest of his career because he’s been such a great fit um but he’s kind of the perfect vet to compliment this group along with Jonas valunas as well he’s been a great vet um for this team too
But yeah let’s get into some of these guys and how their scenes are going so Brandon Ingram right he’s obviously been great um over the past you know four or five years for the Pelicans now he was most improved player um in the 2020 season and he’s just continued that
Right he was obviously great in the playoffs in 2022 when the Pelicans you know were able to make it out of the play in with just 36 wins in the regular season um yeah he’s you know continued being great this season right 21.6 points a game his points are kind of
Down though he shooting 49.4% from the field um 36% from three also averaging 5.8 assist and five rebounds so yeah like I said with Ingram right his scoring has kind of dropped a little bit but that’s cuz you know majority of the team has been healthy Zion’s healthy and
So he doesn’t really have to carry as much of the scoring low because of how well balance on this roster is but Ingram he’s been excellent man I mean he’s kind of like you know I know people have called him this throughout his career but kind of like you know a mini
KD in a sense right plays similar obviously though hasn’t average kind of you know the scoring numbers that KD has but still Ingram is a really efficient 20 point per game score he is an All-Star level player You could argue he’s also in that Superstar tier and he
Definitely has played like it in the playoffs in the play and things like that but yeah Ingram has continued his Excellence but really the main guy that has catapulted this team is z Williamson because when he got hurt in the 2023 season the Pelicans I believe were
Number one in the west right like they were looking like true Championship contenders and it was a similar thing that I mentioned at the beginning of the video right like they were both top 10 in offense and defense if I’m not mistaken like this team was prepared and
Had the perfect roster to win a championship and then obviously Zion got hurt a few other guys had injuries and it kind of just derail their season they went all the way to 42 and 40 where the ninth seed lost in the plan things just
Didn’t go their way for the rest of the season and now that Zion is healthy you’re seeing what this team can really be they have you know hovered around that four five you know sixth range in the West throughout the majority of the Season you know they’ve been around 10
Games above 500 at least as I’m recording this video and you know like I said that’s produced good fruit right they have been top 10 in offense and defense for pretty much most of the season and with that right Zion stats now his scoring is down much like Baron
Inham but but like I said that has to do with how well-rounded this roster is and how much scoring you know obviously the other guys in this team could do like McCullum Murphy Jones right all the guys that got coming off their bench but Z has been great right 22 points 57% from
The field 35% from three ker High 5.2 assists but yeah Point Zion man you can’t deny how good point Zion is like with him running the show and how much spacing he has in that starting lineup it just works really well together right because you think about it this way
Ingram right he’s around a 36 to 40% three-point shooter mullum he’s a 40% three-point shooter herb Jones which I will get to in a little bit he’s shooting a CW High 43% from three and then Jonas Val chudis right even though he’s kind of you know your I guess more
Traditional Center he can step out and hit the three too and he’s pretty darn good and can get going from three as well so given how much space Zion has to work with and all the shooting he has I mean it’s so easy for him to make plays
He has space you know to to drive he’s spacing to you know drive and kick out get to the free l so many different things the possibilities are endless because of how much shooting is around Zion whenever he’s on the court so Props to you know David Griffin and just all
The GMS and all the people working at the front office and the Pelicans they put together a really good roster that fits Zion perfectly because of all the floor spacing around him and the guys that can also defend really well too like I said with Trey Murphy and Herb
Jones so Zion he’s had a great year but the main thing is he’s finally healthy and this is why the Pelicans are really seriously a championship Contender like we all thought they would be at least last season and to an extent the 2022 season as well and with that let’s go
Over CJ McCullum you know as I said he’s been the perfect vet for this team 18 half points per game 45.5% from the the field 41.4% from three with about 4.4 assists now this is his lowest scoring average you know since his second season in Portland but kind of makes sense
Right him you know Zion and Ingram right they’ve been able to play off each other more play together more like I said with the depth of this roster each of those three guys hasn’t had to score as much but obviously McCullum he’s raised his three-point efficiency This Is His
Highest three-point percentage in nearly you know 3 or four years and it’s one of the highest of his career the third highest of his career to be act um but yeah moma’s been excellent the perfect vet perfect point guard for this team great shooter solid playmaker um yeah
Just really he’s a guy you want on your team he a he’s a guy any team would want and so obviously you know he’s I believe the president or vice president player association I forget which role exactly but yeah Mom has been an excellent betet
For this team and I hope he stays here for the rest of his career because he is just such a good fit on this roster Additionally you have herb Jones like I said he’s shooting a c 43.5% from three k 11.3 points um he has improved his
Shooting to an extent that I don’t think anybody expected right herb Jones has been the most prototypical most probably coveted 3 and D Wing in the league like the way he plays is exactly what any team is looking for and he’s definitely one of the Pelican’s most important
Players also K plusus three and a half as well looking at his numbers and also K 85.3% from the free throw line so herb Jones has been absolutely excellent not much else I can say about him but just his three-point shooting his defensive versatility it is so crucial to this
Team success every Championship Contender needs a guy like herb Jones and the fact that he’s developed his shooting as much as he has that’s just going to pay so much dividends for this Pelicans team going forward and it’s been awesome to see the growth of herb Jones here over the past couple years
And with that we got to get a Trey Murphy right he’s obviously an excellent 3 and D guy too for this team but for the Pelicans right think about this they have two of the best young 3 and D guys in the league league and you know no
Other team pretty much has guys like herb Jones and Trey Murphy and yet the Pelicans do so if there’s any indicator that this team go far in the playoffs possibly upset some teams and even potentially win a championship and you know maybe get to the finals herb Jones
And Trey Murphy are the best indicators of that because not only do you have the star power but you have the perfect 3 andd role players to go along with it so Trey Murphy scoring zipped a little bit 13.6 points per game only 37% from three
But he has still been excellent off this Pelicans bench he is the perfect role player that they need and so yeah with all that that’s pretty much one I wanted to mention um about New Orleans Pelicans yeah like I said they have just been absolutely excellent this year in so many areas um
Just their defensive versatility their three-point shooting the spacing Zion being healthy it’s all coming together and if nobody’s talking about them as true contenders they should now because they are the NBA’s best kept secret I would watch out for them you know this team has gotone really underrated at
Least for me this season as well haven’t heard much about them haven’t been following them too much but this team is a force to be reckon with and honestly I would not be surprised if they end up making the Conference Finals or even the NBA finals this year with how wide open
The West is obviously still need to get past Denver but we will see what happens so hope you guys enjoyed the video thank you so much for watching and I’ll see you guys in the next one peace Out
BIBLE VERSE- “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 (NRSVCE)
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I completely failed to mention Trey Murphy’s recent hot streak. He made 10 threes in a game recently and has been on fire over the past week.
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