������ pic.twitter.com/nKo6oVP7xc
— Andrew Smith写真家 (@DruProductions) October 3, 2019
Training Camp Begins
Printable View
-
10-03-2019, 05:18 PMPelicanidae
-
10-03-2019, 05:22 PMNichols
Thanks for all the content Pelicanidea..
-
10-03-2019, 05:27 PMPelicanidaeI only really have three hobbies (basketball is one of 'em), and I have a job that never finishes late. Got plenty of time, so why not? :hihi: I'm kind of lucky in that respect.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nichols
-
10-03-2019, 05:34 PMNicholsMVP..Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
-
10-03-2019, 05:38 PMPelicanidaeMost Vehement Poster.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nichols
-
10-03-2019, 06:22 PMPelicanidae
Griffin mentions he likes the idea of Nicolo Melli playing at the 5 because of the shooting and playmaking he brings.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) October 3, 2019
In an interview with ESPN 100.3, David Griffin identifies Brandon Ingram as someone that's stood out to him because of his playmaking and fit in the system
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) October 3, 2019 -
10-03-2019, 07:04 PMPelicanidae
https://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/ne...october-3-2019
David Griffin interview here with Todd Graffagnini. Transcription of relevant, interesting, or new information below. I'm not gonna transcribe the stuff that's been said a hundred times, just to save me a bit of time.
3 Days into training camp: thoughts?
''There's so much that I've liked. If you look at the bandwith Mrs Benson has given us with building this team and this staff, you're seeing the value of that. Having Chris Finch assume the Associate Head Coach position in the offensive role, and Jeff Bzdelik assuming the Associated Head Coach position in the defensive role, and with having them lead large segments of practice, you're seeing the value in that, and the value of having that kind of teacher. And with having Teresa Weatherspoon on deck and the impact that she's having on these guys in a player development sense has been great. Joe Boylen's entire player development team is really impressive and I think our players are recognising that as well.
Today was probably the best day that we've had in terms of energy, top to bottom. The Blue Team today consisted of JJ Redick, Jrue Holiday, Nico Melli, Brandon Ingram, playing a lot together and that group was really really efficient, so it was fun to see what it looks like when we put some of our best shooters on the floor with real play makers. I think if I had to point to one person right now that's stood out in a surprising way, it's probably Brandon Ingram, in terms of just how far along he is in terms of being fully healthy, and finding his rhythm.''
Bzdelik came over from Houston for us to do the defense. With top 10, top 5 being the goal, and with communication being so important, how's that going?
''No question, and we have guys who tend to be a little towards the quiet side, and we've got a high boiling point. We've got guys who are very much lead by example, so it's gonna be difficult for guys to step into a more vocal role initially, and once we've built some camaraderie you're going to see some more of the vocal leadership coming out, and we need that. We have a kind of quiet building right now. Kenrich Williams is someone who has really stepped out in terms of being vocal. I think what's happened with Coach Bzdelik's presence is that he's raised the level of everyone's game from the coaching perspective, and that's exciting. Coach Alvin Gentry, more than anyone else, really gives his coaching staff the power to be great and the latitude to be great, and then he reinforces what it is that they're selling.
I think what we've seen, because we do have great depth and athleticism, wanting to be top 10, top 5 in defense is fine but why not decide you wanna be number 1 in defense and then go from there? And I know that Jeff Bzdelik wants that, and he's giving no quarter to anyone, and I love that, I love the level of accountability that we have out there.''
Minutes, rotations, etc:
''I think a big part of that is the competitiveness that we have within the roster for minutes at each position. There aren't minutes right now that are a given, we have very few people who are locked into a role. We have Jrue Holiday and Derrick Favors who are locked in right now, and I think you're going to see a lot of Lonzo Ball, but after that it's where guys are really competing for them. If somebody has distanced themselves from others, in many ways it's probably Brandon, and I would have said he was pegged for a role initially but because he was coming off such a long layoff from an injury perspective, we didn't anticipate that he would be this far along already. But that's more pressure on the coaches because Brandon is clearly establishing himself from a minutes perspective.
I think what Alvin has done really well is that he's made it clear that there's going to be a level of personal responsibility with the roster, and he's going to play the people who are accretive to winning, and you look at Nicolo Melli being on that blue team that was really wreaking havoc on everyone, and it's a really tough cover when you can have a 5 out there who is as good at shooting as he is but who also has the basketball IQ of a point guard, it's a rare combination. And Derrick Favors is basically never out of position. So I think the thing that excites us the most is that we have the ability to play an awful lot of guys who can play defense first, and that makes Coach Gentry's message about defense resonate so much more.'' -
10-03-2019, 07:25 PMluckyman
Griffins latest comments confirmed what Im sure I said on here before. Melli is a better candidate for a "small ball" 5 instead of Zion, who'll probably split between the 2 and 3.
-
10-03-2019, 07:33 PMPelicanidaeGriff has also stressed, multiple times, all off-season, that Zion is a lot like Draymond Green (THE small-ball 5) and Gentry (who actually runs the rotations) mentioned playing Zion some minutes at the 5 in his post-practice media availability yesterday. So I feel like the fact that Melli will play some small ball 5 (likely) doesn't mean Zion won't log any minutes at the 5 at all. In fact, if you run Zion and Melli together as the two bigs, I'd find it fairly difficult to describe Melli as the '5' between the two of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by luckyman
That said, do you legit think Zion's going to be logging more minutes at the 2 than the 4? Cause that would be boggling to me.
Edit: I just realised the whole ''do you legit think'' thing sounds kind of aggressive and argumentative. Didn't intend that, honestly just asking if you think Zion's going to play more 2 than 4. -
10-03-2019, 07:44 PMbahmamambauh oh he better be careful they just made that a hate gesture [emoji23]Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk -
10-03-2019, 07:47 PMWildlifeAirGrpActually, her comments were pretty spot on and generally positive. Yes, the vultures were circling. Even Alvin called last season a Dumpster Fire-which probably saved his job and secured a bit of sympathy from the fans. Rachel has always been a fan of New Orleans. Let's not get all excited when someone may or may not say something that isn't always rosey.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
With that said, I would have never known about this and many other things had you not posted it. Thanks for your dedication. -
10-03-2019, 07:54 PMbahmamambahas she? bc all I've ever seen from her was when ad can get out of there and it wasn't until we Called her out on her and espns bs last year did she start saying after every negative thing she how much she looooooved new OrleansQuote:
Originally Posted by WildlifeAirGrp
Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk -
10-03-2019, 08:01 PMRhythmNathanYeah I was about to say how many 6’8” guys gonna get minutes at the 5 in one game??Quote:
Originally Posted by luckyman
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk -
10-03-2019, 08:02 PMPelicanidaeI wasn't the only one who thought that her comments were incorrect and painted an incorrect portrait of the franchise and the fanbase. I do generally like Rachel Nichols more than most of the talking heads on TV, so I'm not attacking her, I just think that that particular segment was poorly written.Quote:
Originally Posted by WildlifeAirGrp
1) She calls David Griffin the GM. He isn't, that's Trajan Langdon, and it's been long enough for media who are supposed to know what they're talking about to know that.
2) ''There were some fans in Seattle who were already measuring the relocation moving vans'' is, frankly, a stupid comment. Nobody was discussing relocation outside of trolls on Twitter.
3) ''He's already made a team and a city feel like it matters''. Am I the only one who felt like New Orleans and the Pelicans mattered before Zion got here? I doubt it.
I get where she's coming from, and the message of ''Griff and Gentry are trying to tamp expectations, but people are still hype anyway'' is fundamentally true, but I don't think she had to wrap it in the Apocalypse scenario that she did, and act like Zion has saved us from being relocated :hihi: -
10-03-2019, 08:06 PMluckymanI just listened to Gentry's post practice presser yesterday, today, and media day. Not once did he ever mention playing Zion at the 5. Can you quote it for me in case I missed it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
The closest he came to that was saying he wants to try and play "position-less" basketball, then said Zion cant just be classified as 'a power forward, shooting forward, or as a guard.' So even then he failed to mention the position of center.
And I dont find describing Melli at the 5 difficult at all. This is a Chris Finch offense. I can easily see Melli as our "Jokic." From what I'm hearing his skill set is very similar.
And I obviously meant Zion at the 3/4 not 2/3. Been up since 5 am. -
10-03-2019, 08:18 PMluckymanShe might be a fan of New Orleans, but (and I'm sure at her employers behest) was pretty heavy in starting all the rumors of helping AD out of here ASAP. Which Im sure played a role given ADs weak mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by WildlifeAirGrp
And she was also on the ESPN sponsored bandwagon of trying to make Zion go back to Duke or just refuse to play here.
How soon do we forget this absolute trash, with no video or evidence to prove what she said. Which apparently means these people can say anything they want just like a gossip rag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KcbtzN7ow8 -
10-03-2019, 08:34 PMPelicanidaeNah, you're right, I misremembered, that's my bad. It was Redick in his media availability the other day who was talking about depth and he said it ''provides us with some lineup opportunities to play with Zion at the 5 or the 4, then surround him with shooting''. So that's my bad, I thought it was Gentry who said it, but nah, Redick. That moment is at about 1 minute 35 into this video, though:Quote:
Originally Posted by luckyman
I don't find it difficult to describe Melli as the 5, in general, I specifically mean when he's on the floor playing with Zion. Both of them are in that 6'8, 6'9 kind of territory, but Zion is comfortably the heavier, larger man. He's the superior rim protector, and rebounder. Given that Melli plays more from the outside in whereas Zion has a more dominant post and vertical game, if those two are the two ''bigs'' on the floor at any given moment, I think that if someone forced me to name which was the centre I'd be more inclined to say Zion than Melli.
I thought you might have meant 3/4, but then I remember that people like Gilbert Arenas were insisting that Zion needed to drop like 50lbs and play shooting guard, so I figured it was best not to assume without clarifying :hihi: I do agree that Zion will play the majority of his minutes at the 3 and 4, but I just think due to his size, his verticality, that image that Griff has of him as the Draymond-style guy, and his talent as a ball handler and passer will lead to him playing inevitable minutes here and there at the 5. -
10-03-2019, 09:46 PMCreativeGreat Energy, great video!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
-
10-03-2019, 11:09 PMsmcgull
I am keeping up with this team more than any other Pelicans/Hornets team. And that is saying something. Win or lose it should be fun watching them get better every game.
-
10-04-2019, 12:22 AMkinglio21093Rachel a double agent. She probably really loves the city, but she working for the company responsible for all the ugly basketball narratives so she's gotta participate in it too.Quote:
Originally Posted by luckyman
-
10-04-2019, 09:51 AMEman5805
So with no shoes, Zion is 6’6”.
-
10-04-2019, 10:11 AMPELICANSFANhttps://theathletic.com/1264363/2019...king-max-deal/Quote:
New Orleans Pelicans
With the NBA installing new rules for teams to verify accurate player heights, as the New York Times reported last week, here is one of the most notable entries so far: No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson measured officially at 6-foot-6, league sources said. The phenom was listed at 6-foot-7 during his freshman season at Duke.
-
10-04-2019, 11:29 AMPelicanidae
The extent to which this matters depends on other people's measurements. And frankly, so does whether I believe it or not.
For example, if RJ Barrett's measurements comes out with him taller than that, then sorry, I just don't buy it. I've seen them stood next to each other fifty times and Zion is just clearly taller. Unless you're making the argument that Zion wears lifts in his shoes or that RJ only ever wears sandles, it's just not true.
That said, it does mean that we can stop calling him 6'6 in general. 6'6 barefoot implies something like 6'7.5 in shoes. -
10-04-2019, 11:32 AMRhythmNathan
This is not good. Not like a huge deal but it probably means he’s done growing. Front court height and defense is still my second biggest concern for this team outside of 3 point shooting from starting 5.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk -
10-04-2019, 11:46 AMPelicanidaeDefense will be fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by RhythmNathan
But yeah I just don't buy it. Unless literally everyone's height comes out lower than expected, I don't buy it. We've seen Zion stood next to 6'9 Ingram looking damn near identical.in height, he's taller than Lonzo who claims he's 6'7, he's taller than RJ Barrett's, etc etc etc. Unless that's a result of them ALL just being smaller than reported, I just don't buy that Zion hasn't grown since he was 17. -
10-04-2019, 11:58 AMbdnp1You can not buy it all along but his 6 foot 6 and that’s facts . Why would they lie. Tbh he looks barley taller than NAWQuote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
-
10-04-2019, 12:03 PMBIG_CITY_BOI
-
10-04-2019, 12:14 PMPelicanidaeWhy would they lie, he asks, about the league that's spent the last 10 years insisting that Kevin Durant is 6'9?Quote:
Originally Posted by bdnp1
The facts are the facts, but there's no telling whether we're actually getting them. The fact is that that NAW measured at 6'5.5'' without shoes at the combine. Damn near 6'6'', and Zion looks comfortably taller than him: not 5 inches taller or anything, but comfortably taller.
We also know that Hayes measured in at 6'11.5'' without shoes at the combine. We've seen Zion stood next to Hayes: does he look 5.5 inches shorter? No. 3 inches shorter, sure, but not basically half a foot.
Cam Reddish measured at the combine at 6'8'' without shoes: Zion looks basically the same height as him in every picture that's come out in the last 6 months.
Ingram was also listed by his combine at 6'8 without shoes: in all of the media day photographs, Zion looks to be a very similar height as Ingram, although possibly a little bit shorter due to his hair.
So I'm supposed to believe that actually, there has never been a picture taken of Zion where his height can be accurately judged, and also, he's not grown since he was measured more than a year ago despite being barely 18 years old at the time? I just don't buy it. Sorry. -
10-04-2019, 12:20 PMWowowowowI might be in the rare group that believes Zions height is a benefit to him. It would worry me if he wasn’t a gem laterally. I don’t think people understand the mismatch he is and how being the supreme slasher height benefits him.Quote:
Originally Posted by bdnp1
-
10-04-2019, 12:42 PMkinglio21093Charles Barkley was 6'6 and he was fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by RhythmNathan
-
10-04-2019, 12:45 PMEman5805
Why does this mean he’s done growing?
-
10-04-2019, 12:52 PMPelicanidaeProbably cause he was 6'6'' a year ago, and he was barely 18. If he's still 6'6'' now, over a year later at 19 and a some change, that's a full year of zero growth during an age where you would expect there to be some.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eman5805
I guess he could always have a random growth spurt at 20 or something, it's not impossible, but it's also not encouraging. -
10-04-2019, 01:58 PMPelicanidae
Lonzo, Jah, and Zion working on free throws with Fred Vinsion pic.twitter.com/DrBNGL3Ggs
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) October 4, 2019
This is a great sign. One of the most obvious and frustrating holes in our team, one of the few things that I do feel we are legitimately lacking, is free throw shooting. None of our projected starting 5 shot better than 80% from the FT line last year (Zion was in college, but still). Only one of them (Jrue) shot better than 70%.
If these guys can just work on this properly with a high quality shooting coach (which Vinson is) then hopefully we can see some marginal improvements. Not expecting anyone here to become Steph Curry or Redick from the stripe, but even taking a 5% bump would help a lot.
For Lonzo, I'm hoping he follows the Clint Capela path of FT shooting. In Capela's rookie year, he shot 17.4% from the FT line (admittedly, super low attempts, only played 12 games, etc etc). Since then, he's gone:
2nd year: 38%
3rd year: 53%
4th year: 56%
5th year: 64%
If Lonzo can follow a similar path that would be great. Last year, he shot an abysmal 41.7% from the stripe. If he can manage to get it to around 50% or 55% this season, I'll take that as a real positive. -
10-04-2019, 02:01 PMDroopyDawg
Why does a player's measurement when barefoot matter? its not like he'll play the games without shoes on. But whatever. Barley was probably 6'4, and he horsed folks.
-
10-04-2019, 02:07 PMPelicanidae
Okafor saying at media availability that he thinks we should be the best offensive rebounding team in the NBA this year.
-
10-04-2019, 02:09 PMPelicanidaeIt doesn't really matter that much. It's useful for projecting, scouting, etc, but really once you're on the NBA floor, you can either do what you need to do to win, or you can't, and it doesn't matter whether you're big if you're useless; see Alexis Ajinca, just like it doesn't matter if you're small if you're good; see Charles Barkley.Quote:
Originally Posted by DroopyDawg
It's just annoying because I am sure that he's bigger than that, and it grates to see a number that doesn't seem to line up with reality. -
10-04-2019, 02:13 PMPelicanidae
Gentry media availability:
On open practice: ''It's for the fans, they don't wanna see drills. They're not like you, they don't wanna see the drills, so we'll treat them to really, kind of, scrimmaging with the two teams and meet with Scott [Kushner] afterwards to speak X's and O's.''
''I guess if you could compare it to maybe Lebron going to Miami or going back to Cleveland, or Durant going to Golden State... I think that with us, I've never seen interest in basketball be as high as it is right now. I think it's a good thing but the bottom line is that we've got to back it up with the way that we play.''
On defense and basics: ''I think we've done a really good job with that and our guys have embraced the defensive concepts that Jeff has. We're going to be very aggressive and give up some backdoor plays or layups, but our thing is that we wanna make the offense react to us, not the other way around.''
On rebounds: ''There's no reason why you can't be a good offensive rebounding team and a good defensive transition team. We have athletic, long guys and there's no reason we shouldn't have to go after the offensive boards.''
On Zion playing 3, 4, 5. Bzdelik's experience on undersized bigs from PJ Tucker: ''He should be, he's athletic and can move his feet. Very strong guy. He'll get there, I think the toughest thing is that the defensive concepts in the NBA are tougher than in college so there'll be an adjustment, but I can't see any reason why he wouldn't be. It's not going to happen over night, but with the way that he works, I think he can be a top notch defender, yes.'' -
10-04-2019, 02:16 PMPelicanidae
Jahlil Okafor said Zion is extremely difficult to stop in the post and off the glass, even having several inches of height advantage.
— Scott Kushner (@ScottDKushner) October 4, 2019
Noted Zion’s explosiveness and leaping ability, with such a unique physique. -
10-04-2019, 02:18 PMPelicanidae
Moore media availability:
On the open practice: ''Yeah it's exciting when you have the fans and people behind you. It's definitely motivating and will get us pumped up, ready for the season.''
Depth on the team at guard: ''It's been fun, we've got a lot of talent so guys can do a lot of different things. We compete every day and they make you bring your hard hat every single time you play.''
Defensive differences: ''We play a lot scrappy, forcing other teams to play our way, making them react to us. We have a very aggressive defensive mindset.'' -
10-04-2019, 02:25 PMPelicanidae
Zion and Jeff Bzdelik reviewing film pic.twitter.com/Iiv64SaPcR
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) October 4, 2019
Lonzo's free throw form pic.twitter.com/Za5JtilKHo
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) October 4, 2019 -
10-04-2019, 02:42 PMPelicanidae
The motion remains consistent. That’s step one. The progress is obvious, just how much has been made is yet to be seen. #wbd #pelicans #zolimit pic.twitter.com/PEMotPzIgz
— David M. Grubb (@DMGrubb) October 4, 2019 -
10-04-2019, 03:02 PMPelicanidae
Zion's free throw form pic.twitter.com/9Qv3ZaXRIm
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) October 4, 2019
Zion going 5/6 from the FT line.
Encouraging signs. Obviously it's practice, and Shaq claims he shot 90% in practice or whatever it was, so in-game is different. We know that. But just looking at his form, it seems fairly comfortable, repeatable. No dramatic hitches or jerks or whatever, and it's all one motion. So those are good signs.
Interestingly enough, the one he missed is the one where he seemed to pause at the shoulder before going into the release. He shot FTs with that weird pause fairly often at Duke, so I'm assuming that that's what Vinson and Co. are working on with regards to his release, there. It's much better when he misses that pause out. Getting rid of it could take him from a 65% FT shooter to 75%, which is a pretty important difference. -
10-04-2019, 03:54 PMsocbe7Doesn't line up with your reality. You've been obsessing over Zion's height and it breaks your heart to find out you were indeed wrong. Just a couple of months ago you were making blanket statements like "as we all know Zion is 6'9" blah blah." It doesn't magically change anything about him though to list his actual height. He is going to be who he is regardless and for our sake let's hope that's remotely close to the hype he's had the last two years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelicanidae
-
10-04-2019, 04:06 PMPelicanidae:hihi:Quote:
Originally Posted by socbe7
I love how me finding an amusing conspiracy theory (which I even called my own conspiracy theory like 10 times) to have fun with during a very dead off-season is somehow ''obsessing''. Mountain, meet mole-hill.
Like I said, whether it really lines up or not depends on what comes out about other players heights. Apparently Marvin Bagley, who is listed at 6'11'', was announced as being 6'8'' today at the Kings pre-season game, and if we're going to see a lot of dramatic height drops like that around the league then the Zion height issue is a lot more understandable. Makes sense, in that context.
I do find it hard to believe that Zion is 6'6'' without shoes (unless those new Jordan 34s have 2 inch soles :hihi:), because my judgements have been based off seeing him relative to other people with certain listed heights. If it turns out they're all a little shorter than expected too, then it actually makes complete sense. I've heard rumours (although this is not confirmed!!! obviously not claiming it is) that Draymond Green is about 6'5'' barefoot, which would be very surprising indeed. -
10-04-2019, 04:10 PMPelicanidae
Sir, what is your height?
— Jake Madison (@NOLAJake) October 4, 2019
"Head above the rim" pic.twitter.com/6vJTRbAXra -
10-04-2019, 04:23 PMluckyman
I did notice in some of the photos he shoe soles looked pretty thick.
But really, if he's even 6'5" it does not matter. We are talking about inches here, so you really wont see a big difference until he is dealing with really long players that are 6'11" and above.
With his size and athleticism he'll be tough to handle on both ends. Just like Chuck and LJ. -
10-04-2019, 04:32 PMPelicanidaeI mean, it's possible with the shoe soles. I've certainly owned shoes with very thick soles (Lebron 13s, spring to mind) but I can't find the stats anywhere for the Jordan 34. Would be curious to know.Quote:
Originally Posted by luckyman
I agree that he'll be fine either way. He has strength by the bucketload, and he's explosively athletic, including on the second jump which can be so important. Super fast off the ground. It's just a curiosity thing. -
10-04-2019, 04:47 PMPelicanidae
Gonna start a thread of awesome @DruProductions photos titled "Zion making regular things look tiny as hell in his hands" pic.twitter.com/vmHiPQ4mqf
— Mason Ginsberg (@MasonGinsberg) October 4, 2019 -
10-04-2019, 05:20 PMPelicanidae
Brandon Ingram's latest Instagram post pic.twitter.com/eJPQTi365L
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) October 4, 2019 -
10-04-2019, 05:46 PMPelicanidae
No, the @PelicansNBA “Won’t Bow Down.” They’re coming soon to @NBAonTNT! �� pic.twitter.com/AYBv4xJukh
— Kristen Ledlow (@KristenLedlow) October 4, 2019
Pelicans will be on NBA On TNT, broadcasting from Training Camp.