Our Favorite Lineup Did It Once Again

CJ McCollum put on a masterclass in playmaking and scoring out of the pick and roll

Am I going to write about the shooting lineup after every win? Definitely a real possibility if they keep performing at this level.

First thing first -

How many feet in the paint?

The answer is zero. The high middle pick and roll, and I mean high - just look at where JV sets the screen - with a spread floor is extremely difficult to guard. CJ and the Pelicans took full advantage of their time together by generating quality look after quality look.

CJ McCollum, Jordan Hawkins, Matt Ryan, Herb Jones, and Jonas Valanciunas spent 5 minutes and 23 seconds together on the court against OKC. In that time, they scored 20 points. They were 4/4 from two and 3/4 from three. They sported a gargantuan offensive rating of 200.

Across 4 games now, this the Pelicans second most played unit. Though they have logged only 19 total minutes, they are a +16 in those minutes. Best of all, it has allowed veterans CJ McCollum and JV to really shine. It’s difficult to fit around the Williamson and Ingram duo from an offensive usage standpoint. Those two will by nature devour most of the possessions. These stagger units allow both CJ and JV to get loose and get theirs. They also have arguably saved the day in all three of the Pelicans wins.

The unit keeps getting better and figuring out new ways to score. In this game, they spammed the pick and roll. The concept was simple - CJ as a drop killing ball handler, Valanciunas as the massive roll man, and the shooters as shooters (and Herb as Herb strategically placed in places difficult to help from).

Here is a video breakdown of the varied yet potent pick and roll attack. Sometimes the game is simple, and sometimes you need shooters to make it simple.

PS: CJ’s shot selection this year is an analytics nerd’s wet dream. He has taken JUST TWO shots in the dreaded “long two” zone out of 65 shots taken total.