2024 PELICANS Summer League Schedule & Gameday thread!

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Originally Posted by RaisingTheBar

Can he play center?

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What position did he play in Birmingham?

Just looking at the +/- (since i didnt see the first half) the team does much better with Jordan Hawkins on the floor lol

I dont know who Jordan Ford is but he just locked some guy up 1 on 1, stole the ball, and went down the court for a layup

Matkovic sighting! bad miss communication to throw away the ball, but then made up for it on an open court chase down block, then ran the floor to the other side for a rebound put back dunk with 1 minute to go

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Why? We are desperate for guys who can play center, and he can play center.

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My own made up numbers but I'm going to say it's 50/50 if BI gets traded for a C but 98% that we have a better C on the roster before training camp.

Player of the game for the Pels is #13 Karlo Matkovic.

Jordan Hawkins miss from 3 in the clutch

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

My own made up numbers but I'm going to say it's 50/50 if BI gets traded for a C but 98% that we have a better C on the roster before training camp.

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If BI doesnt get traded for a center then idk how we are going to acquire a legit one. But I've hyped myself up for small ball Pelicans. Theis can give us 20 something minutes, and Z can give us minutes at center, then whoever is left can get the remaining time.

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Originally Posted by Darkhorse985

Player of the game for the Pels is #13 Karlo Matkovic.

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Yes, and +/- can be deceiving. But he did have the worst +/- for both teams (-11).

Karlo looked really good. Hawkins needs to protect the ball a bit better, but I thought he did well for a guy that was prioritized all night by a tough Timberwolves team. Missi was active and good at the free throw line. Reeves looked very comfortable driving to the hoop which is a good sign for a sharpshooter. Would like to see him finish better and hit more of those looks.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

Just looking at the +/- (since i didnt see the first half) the team does much better with Jordan Hawkins on the floor lol

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They go all in on him defensively and he opens up the court for the other guys. Really don’t have anybody else like that in the squad so it makes sense.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

If BI doesnt get traded for a center then idk how we are going to acquire a legit one. But I've hyped myself up for small ball Pelicans. Theis can give us 20 something minutes, and Z can give us minutes at center, then whoever is left can get the remaining time.

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People said this about Murray. And even after we got Murray for picks and filler contracts people seem to still be surprised most trades in the NBA aren't two equivalent players being traded for eachother. The Pels have always openly stated they wanted to keep BI. I think they have a plan in place to get a C for picks and fillers but are waiting to see if they have to pull the trigger on BI for C first.

I'm hyped for small ball, too. I just don't see Zion wanting to play C for a majority of min.

Summer League is really hard to watch. I liked Hawkins and his aggressive game. Missi, Matkovic and Reeves played well. The rest honestly doesn't matter... maybe I would take a closer look at Hauser, but that's it.

As a Spartan fan, I've watched a good bit of Joey Hauser. He strikes me as a better and taller defender than Matt Ryan with similar shooting ability. Unfortunately, similar athleticism, but I'd still like to see him as a 2-way player or end of the bench.

Our "team" was pretty unimpressive last night, but it was great to see men's basketball on my TV.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

What position did he play in Birmingham?

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That’s not NBA. He still has some developing to do but biggest concern is his foot quickness 1 on 1. Yesterday I did see some solid help d and blocks though.

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Originally Posted by RaisingTheBar

That?s not NBA. He still has some developing to do but biggest concern is his foot quickness 1 on 1. Yesterday I did see some solid help d and blocks though.

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He doesn't look slower than the average nba big man to me

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

He doesn't look slower than the average nba big man to me

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Got it he should have been starting the last 2 seasons.

I am surprised you guys are not talking about what Griffin said regarding the center position. Now I know that is just talk, but he said in the interview during the game they are content with what they have at center.

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Originally Posted by RaisingTheBar

Got it he should have been starting the last 2 seasons.

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That's a really idiotic thing to say. It's not uncommon for young players to need to develop a bit before getting minutes in the NBA. Just because he wasn't ready to be an NBA starter at age 21 doesn't mean he can't be a contributor now and give us 10 min a night.

We also had legit big man depth those two seasons, but now there is a gaping hole for someone in his role.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

I'm hyped for small ball, too. I just don't see Zion wanting to play C for a majority of min.

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Hey Z, I know that you spent half of last year being told to take a back seat and forced off-ball even though it resulted in some of your worst play in a long time and you publicly said you weren't that comfortable with it, and we heard you.

That's why this year, despite being 6'6 and all of your best defensive work coming against larger wings, we're going to make you play the 5 because we couldn't be bothered to get a real C. Have fun defending all of the giants in our division!

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Yeah, I wouldn't want to do it either.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

That's a really idiotic thing to say. It's not uncommon for young players to need to develop a bit before getting minutes in the NBA. Just because he wasn't ready to be an NBA starter at age 21 doesn't mean he can't be a contributor now and give us 10 min a night.

We also had legit big man depth those two seasons, but now there is a gaping hole for someone in his role.

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My friend this convo started out idiotic thinking he’s playing in the NBA. He should not take a single minute away from Missi, Theis, or even JRE.

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Originally Posted by RaisingTheBar

My friend this convo started out idiotic thinking he’s playing in the NBA. He should not take a single minute away from Missi, Theis, or even JRE.

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Never say never. It’s unlikely, but he looks skilled and very active as well as intelligent. One thing I noticed was he seems to anticipate blocks so well that he intentionally lets his man get by him to get into better position to stuff. Not sure that will work in the NBA, but he definitely did not hurt his stock whatsoever. He genuinely looked the best player there.

One really good sign for Missi- he looked great at the FT line. If he can show the same in the league, he can see minutes in crunch time down the line.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Hey Z, I know that you spent half of last year being told to take a back seat and forced off-ball even though it resulted in some of your worst play in a long time and you publicly said you weren't that comfortable with it, and we heard you.

That's why this year, despite being 6'6 and all of your best defensive work coming against larger wings, we're going to make you play the 5 because we couldn't be bothered to get a real C. Have fun defending all of the giants in our division!

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Yeah, I wouldn't want to do it either.

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Why does small ball equal off ball for Zion in your mind? It just means a guy like Trey is on the floor instead of a worse than average center. It doesn't mean Zion has to play off ball.

Zion is short for center but he's also solid and strong for his size. I haven't seen him get physically bullied yet. We have seen him get beat by quicker guys off the dribble, but that's from guarding smaller players not big players.

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Originally Posted by RaisingTheBar

My friend this convo started out idiotic thinking he’s playing in the NBA. He should not take a single minute away from Missi, Theis, or even JRE.

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Robinson Earl should not have any minutes to be taken away, they shouldnt exist in the first place. and if Missi is ready for playing time at age 20 that would be awesome but I dont expect it.