Early Impressions From Preseason Game 1

10 thoughts and observations from the first game

I’m not in the business of providing game recaps, so I apologize to those who came looking for a summary. I can, however, provide some analysis and observations from my time in the Blender.

1. Starting with a positive here - the starters, when together, looked generally fine. There is a great deal more movement in the offense, both in the half court and from an overall pace standpoint. The pace in the first half of play was a blistering 112. The fastest team last season, Golden State, had a pace of 102.5. Now this will come down in the regular season, especially as defenses tighten up - but this was a promising start nonetheless. There appeared to be a strong emphasis on pushing off of makes and misses alike.

2. Viewers got their first look at Zion at the center configuration early. The result was outstanding. In roughly a 5 minute stretch from the end of the first quarter until about the 9 minute mark in the second, the Pelicans scored 19 points on 6 of 9 shooting and had 7 trips to the FT line. Consequently, they held the Magic to 14 points on 5-13 shooting. The Magic went 2-5 from three, or 40%, which would imply there wasn’t crazy shooting variance involved deflating their stats, but of course the sample is teeny tiny. The Pelicans held up defensively and outrebounded the Magic 7 to 6 despite forking over 3 offensive rebounds. This will be the key to lineup sustainability. Note, this configuration has yet to feature Trey Murphy and Brandon Ingram. Fun times ahead.

3. The elite offensive nature of Zion units elevates their defense. When the Pelicans are scoring, they are able to get back and set their defense in transition. When the Pelicans struggle to score and turn the ball over, their defense suffers as a result. This is evidenced by the Pelicans sporting a team best (in the non garbage time minutes) a 107.9 DRTG when Zion was on the court - despite multiple defensive lapses from Zion.

4. Following up on the previous point, the non Zion units looked extremely clunky. It’s preseason, but the team will need to figure out how to keep the offense afloat when he isn’t on the court. Willie Green emphasized on media day that this will be an area of focus, but the small sample of yesterday’s game highlighted the need for continued improvement in these units.

5. It’s only preseason and the opponent simply does not care about Herb Jones on the perimeter. Herb was 2/3 from three, including 2/2 from the corner. He will need to continue to take (and make) the corner looks. I think they can do without the wing threes unless absolutely necessary. Willie Green emphasized a need for players to be in the “deep corners” for adequate spacing last night, and Herb will need to take advantage of the space he is given.

6. No point Zion last night in any capacity - something even CJ made a notice of - and he still tallied 5 assists. I believe they are just trying out different things at the moment because they can and am not worried about this bleeding into the regular season. However, I do think they have to find better ways to work with Zion off ball than to park him in the corner for stretches at a time. The starting unit has barely played together so it will take time to balance touches and fit.

7. CJ’s shot distribution was near perfect. Six of his nine shot attempts were from three. Not only is the volume superb, the quality of looks were good as well. Off ball CJ will be a weapon for this team to take advantage of.

8. Jordan Hawkins looked very much like a rookie out there. I do not believe he is ready for meaningful minutes yet, but the minutes he does get should be handcuffed to Zion. Zion can elevate virtually any lineup, particularly if he has a shooting outlet as capable as Hawkins.

9. I keep coming back to the idea of Zion at the center and how the team should look to build moving forward. If it’s clear the team wants to run, and if they are truly unstoppable in those units, then investing in talented forwards needs to be a priority. I think both Larry and JV are expendable in an effort to reach this goal. Example - Trading Valanciunas to Charlotte for PJ Washington and moving Larry for Rob Williams. A move like this gives them a center capable of playing 22-25 minutes per game that can switch, rebound, and defend. It also gives them a forward off the bench who can shoot and score. There’s still the two Toronto forwards out there as well. Of course, the Pelicans want leadership and will never make such a move. If you can’t tell, my eyes have rolled out of my sockets and the Earth’s atmosphere after reaching escape velocity.

10. Seabron needs real minutes. At this point he is better than Kira, Jose, and even Naji. I fear there is too much veteranosity and know how ahead of him to overcome, but he has an elite skillset that none of those players possess. It is time for the Pelicans to find out exactly how good he can be.