In Season Tournament: Semi Finals Bound

The Pelicans notch a thrilling victory against the Sacramento Kings

With just under five minutes remaining in the contest, Brandon Ingram drove from the right wing to the baseline where he was met by a double team. Sacramento swarmed the 6’7” forward while Herb Jones smartly darted to the middle of the court from the opposite wing. Cool, calm, and collected, Ingram accepted the double team and found Jones in the soft spot of the defense. Before the Kings could react and collapse on Jones, the ball had been kicked out to Trey Murphy who cashed in the three. The Pelicans bench exploded in celebration as the lead grew from 8 to 11. Not even Willie Green could contain his excitement, as he punched the air ferociously after the bucket. This sequence all but ensured victory for the Pelicans and it was a microcosm of how the team had played.

Brandon Ingram Leads The Way

In the context of his career as a Pelicans, Brandon Ingram played one of his best games to date. On the surface the 30-8-6 performance seems like one of countless Ingram has tallied in his four plus seasons in New Orleans, yet the context of the game reveals a much more complex valuation. For starters, this was the first “meaningful” game where Ingram had appeared alongside Williamson. With a never ending chorus of cries over how the duo fits (led by yours truly), this was their first opportunity to display their working relationship in game that had consequences. This opportunity took place in a hostile environment against a very good Kings team vying for revenge for the previous two meetings. Nevertheless, the pomp and circumstance of the In Season Tournament didn’t stop Brandon Ingram from delivering.

Ingram impacted the game across multiple facets - scoring, playmaking, rebounding, and even defense. Let’s examine the scoring for a second here. 30 points scored on 10-20 from the field, 3-6 from three, and 7-9 from the free throw line. Coming off a game where he attempted exactly ZERO threes, Ingram hoisted six in a game that mattered, nailing half of them. Four of his six attempts were off direct passes from Zion, including all three of his makes. The two that really stand out to me are these -

Both of these were pull up threes following hefty screens set by Zion. These are shots that can be available to the duo at will, and fundamentally change the geometry of the court if Ingram is willing to take and make these at a high enough rate. Ingram has always been a willing and capable pull up midrange shooter. The effort to extend the range behind the arc needs to be a focus for him and the development staff. To their credit - Ingram is seen diligently working on these exact shots after practices and before games. This particular shot has changed the fortune of many players, and it is a skillset the Pelicans desperately need.

Beyond the threes, Ingram found himself at the free throw line 9 times. There was a level of aggression that Ingram played with which allowed him to take advantage of several opportunities while the Pelicans were in the bonus. 22 of Ingram’s 30 points came from either the free throw line, the paint, or beyond the arc. The 4 of 6 shooting display on non-paint twos was an extra “fuck you” that tied the brilliant performance together. Sacramento had absolutely nothing for Brandon Ingram, and he let them know it.

This is a how Brandon Ingram is capable of playing on a night to night basis. It is these performances that launch Ingram from borderline all-star conversations, to the vaunted super-max worthy all NBA territory. The shots will not go in every night, but the force and focus is something Ingram needs to bring on a nightly basis.

Stop Playing With Herb Jones

When the Pelicans trot out a starting unit of McCollum, Jones, Ingram, Williamson, and Valanciunas, teams see four capable scorers and decide Jones is the least threating option. It is time for teams to start viewing Jones as a capable scorer in his own right. Look, I understand that teams will have to pick their poison and choosing the 34% career shooter from three is procedurally a good choice. However, Herb is taking the Tony Allenesque coverage as a sign of disrespect and throwing it in opponent faces.

Jones finished the night as the Pelicans’ second leading scorer behind Ingram, mixing in a series of violent rim attacks, timely threes, and excellent free throw shooting. For the season, Jones is sporting a monster 65.6 TS%. He has invited every team to try him, and generally made them pay. The cost of poor spacing can be mitigated by efficient individual offense that causes foul trouble for defenses. Herb is doing exactly that, with career highs in rim field goal percentage, free throw rate, three point rate, and of course for now - three point percentage as well. Herb is the overlap in the Venn diagram between a pure hooper’s and analytics nerd’s basketball preferences. The mixture of old school, tough as nails defense married to the ruthless attacks on the rim, producing sabermetric friendly results. Everyone loves Herb Jones.

There is a long way to go before teams change up their game plan on Jones, but he is letting them know that he’s no punk who will crumble under the pressure of increased usage. Careless opponents will blink and find Jones dunking on their head. You’ve been warned, proceed appropriately.

Trey Murphy Unlocks The Pelicans Small Ball Units

Prior to Trey Murphy’s triumphant debut against the Spurs, the Pelicans had spend 280 minutes on the season where neither of Valanciunas nor Zeller were on the court. In these “non-center” minutes, the Pelicans were a whopping -59. For rate adjusted fans, this translates to -8.28 per 100, with ORTG and DRTGs of 104.24 and 112.52 respectively. The Pelicans struggled to score, defend, and rebound when their centers were off the court, forfeiting any of the intended advantages to going small while exacerbating the disadvantages.

Since Murphy’s return, the Pelicans have spent only 15 minutes in situations that feature both the presence of Murphy, and the absence of a center. In these 15 minutes, the Pelicans have scored 43 points and outscored their opponent by 20. It is my responsibility to warn against extremely small samples, however I want to throw caution to the wind. Murphy is explicitly designed to thrive in these situations. A large wing, Murphy’s shooting gravity amplifies the games of the Pelicans’ best players. 7 of his 12 made field goals across two games have been assisted by either Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram, and opponents are struggling with how to defend the different combinations.

The availability of Murphy allows the Pelicans to play Dyson or Herb at the nominal 5 spot. Units that used to cede shooting and size advantages on the perimeter no longer have to give an inch with Murphy back on the court. The Pelicans no longer rely solely on Jordan Hawkins' shooting, which previously came at the cost of experience and size on defense. Moreover, if someone like Dyson is able to credibly step up into the Larry Nance role during Nance’s absence, the Pelicans will find themselves at the threshold of some very interesting team building questions.

Allow me to frame it this way - Willie Green effectively revealed his 8 man rotation against the Kings on Monday night. The starters, Murphy, Alvarado, and Marshall were the mainstays, with Zeller and Daniels getting spot minutes to give players some reprieve. Nance was unavailable, and Kira Lewis was a healthy DNP. These two, at the moment are the most tradeable salary pieces on the Pelicans. Jonas Valanciunas was thought to be amongst tradeable salary going into this season as an expiring, however, his play this season creates real doubt as to whether an upgrade is truly available. If the Pelicans can leverage the Nance and Lewis dollars to upgrade one of the 7-9 roster spots, they might truly be on the brink of something special. Now the Pelicans absolutely need a minutes eater at the “bench five” spot. However, if Daniels can transition into a switch five role smoothly, the Pelicans should ask themselves what kind player they can go chase with the combined salaries of Valanciunas, Nance, and Lewis.

My preferred bench five upgrade at the moment is Dorian Finney-Smith. Just wanted to throw that out there. It’s difficult to conceive of a true upgrade to Valanciunas that also doesn’t compromise the abilities of Herb Jones. Jarrett Allen looms as a target, but if the Pelicans find real success in small units with McCollum, Jones, Murphy, Williamson, and Ingram - should they really pay the tax for a non-shooting rim protector? Turner seems more unavailable than ever. Perhaps the solution is to throw picks at Brooklyn until they cede Claxton and Finney-Smith. I assume I’ll have better luck asking Santa Clause for something under the tree.