You iso the post so he can’t come down and double and if he does pop it out for 3
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We waste Naws career night by playing no perimeter defense. Ughhhhhh
NAW is clearly the best guard on our team, and there is no excuse for him not to be our starting SG.
Clippers really choking... We just choked harder. Funny... When we do what the Clippers did in the final minute . The opposing team is making those shots
Clippers really went scoreless the last 1:46 and we couldn't make a shot. Wow...
Even in a lost, this was the best game the Pelicans have played since the sweep against Portland three years ago. No one can deny the effort.
Lewis and NAWs need to start. Screw playoffs man. Let the young dudes grow.
Hate to see NAW waste such an awesome game jacking up unnecessary threes to end it. He'll learn when to switch into playmaker mode.
But otherwise...WOW! A lot of us called it since day 1. He's the best guard on the team and the starting back court should be Bledsoe/NAW.
The question is will SVG play politics or will he make that decision.
Best contribution Lonzo has done for the pels so far
Yup and as Ive been lobbying for NAW since forever ago, I see this man getting 20 to 25 mins a night as a must. Our backcourt is legit, the weakest s**t ever. Naw gives us out best shot to make it better with CONSISTENT play. Not taking him out every time he makes a couple of mistakes. Best game (effort wise) I've seen from everybody except for the ending lol.
Kira is pretty much the antithesis of Lonzo. Scores on all 3 levels and even has a deep 3 in his bag.
Also his off ball defense needs work, but his on ball defense looks very good.
It's becoming very hard to not want him to get minutes every game now.
This kid got game, you love to see it. Start NAW.
Honestly, this game is the sort of game that just tells you what you need to know about some guys.
Obviously Nickeil isn't going to shoot 65/63/100 efficiencies every game, nobody believes that for a second. Nor is he going to put up only one turnover every 33 minutes. This isn't his first game, and we've seen him have terrible nights before in terms of efficiency and turnovers. This doesn't erase that.
But a game missing three starters, where a guy who has barely been getting minutes suddenly gets 33, against a defensive lineup of Pat Bev, Kawhi, and PG13, dropping 37 on extreme efficiency, tells you so much about his mindset and his approach. This is a guy who was ready for his moment when it came, and who didn't shrink against the pressure. That's huge.
I'm fully in favour of inserting him into the starting lineup. Yes, there will be games where he shoots badly and turns it over a bunch and is no better than Ball: those will happen. But the upside of him is so much higher than Ball. When have we ever seen Lonzo do this, in nearly 200 career games? The answer is never: Nickeil's 37 points tonight was more than Lonzo has ever had in a game. Lonzo has never played a game where he's put up this kind of volume this efficiently: he's only had 3 games in his career where he's taken more than 20 shots and he's only once has he ever had 50%FG or better doing it. In all three of those games he played at least 38 minutes, and in all three of them he had at least 3 turnovers.
So yeah, will NAW have bad nights where Lonzo might play better? Yes. Is that worth it when you know that there's this sort of thing lying under that? Of course it is.
The question is, does NAW have star ability?
I love his super high release
Honestly, I'm not sure. When he was drafted I said that I thought the pick was fine: not something of outlier high value but totally justifiable at the spot, and that he would end up being a solid combo guard who could prop up a rotation in the playoffs, which has value but not star value.
I think overall that this read is probably still fairly accurate depending on the quality of the team. He hasn't really had the playing time and opportunity at the NBA level yet to prove me wrong, I guess, though he could. The question is just whether he could do that generically, or whether he could do it on a good team which is a big difference. I think the potential for him to be a positive rotation guard on a legitimately good team is there, which is great: how many teams in the NBA are/were desperate for a guard that you could legitimately give 25 minutes to in a playoff game if needed, behind the starter?
Neva 4get the GM Survey
https://www.nba.com/news/2020-21-gmsurveyQuote:
Which rookie was the biggest steal at where he was selected in the Draft?
1. Tyrese Haliburton (12), Sacramento – 43%
2. Saddiq Bey (19), Detroit – 11%
3. Kira Lewis Jr. (13), New Orleans – 7%
Tyrese Maxey (21), Philadelphia – 7%
Obi Toppin (8), New York – 7%
> Also receiving votes: Precious Achiuwa (20), Miami; Cole Anthony (15), Orlando; Vernon Carey Jr. (32), Charlotte; Theo Maledon (34), Oklahoma City; Skylar Mays (50), Atlanta; Jaden McDaniels (28), Minnesota; Devin Vassell (11), San Antonio
> Last year: Nickeil Alexander-Walker – 32%
This season is going to benefit guys like Nickeil Alexander Walker who are about work and basketball. A lot of guys are in for the lifestyle. He’s all about getting better and earning his money. We will see him for a long time in this league. #nba
— Jamelle McMillan (@JamelleMcmillan) January 14, 2021
I fear NAW will turn out just like his cousin. Show his skill and talent finally when given the opportunity, only to be a center piece in a trade for a bigger better star and he becomes a quality starter for that team instead.
Need to trade Lonzo, while we can get something.
A good amount of missed shots from the Pelicans as seen by their assists to potential assists distribution last night. Kira had 4 potential assists in 15 minutes, the Pelicans didn't convert a single one. pic.twitter.com/XyD46HJCDg
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) January 14, 2021
This is part of why I don't like looking at raw assist numbers to judge playmaking. Kira had a bunch of ''assists'' that just never happened because nobody could shoot; phantom assists.
On a side note, check out Jax's potential assists! Dude was hooping. Same game he had 4 screen assists (Adams led the team, with 9), led the team in deflections with 3, and logged 5 box-outs (Adams led the team with 6).
Also, Kira logged 6 drives in 15 minutes of play.
For comparison, Lonzo averages 6 per game in 34 minutes a night.
Team leaders in drives (per36):
Bledsoe: 13.7
Nickeil: 12.4
Ingram: 11.6
Kira: 10.8
Zion: 8.03
Lonzo: 6.4
Hart: 2.3
Redick: 2.3
So you can see that, per minute, Nickeil and Kira are already two of our five most consistent drivers. Sorry Lonzo.
Do your numbers speak to the quality of the passes? I can argue that JAXSON passes are often misguided but do lead to a shot. Does a wild pass at Hart's feet that leads to missed shot, account for a missed assist? ....or a wild bailout three attempt from BI account for a missed assist?
Kira did look super comfortable out there last night, I was surprised. You can already tell that he may have the best handle on the team.
They're all available on NBA.com/stats
You can search up all manner of stats: hustle stats, clutch statistics, efficiency sorted by play-types (pick and roll ball handler, pick and roll roll man, transition, isolation, spot up, hand off, etc), tracking stats for splitting shooting into pull-ups and C&S attempts, et cetera. So much information on there, it's a good site to get to grips with.
Lewis's burst gonna put a lot of dudes into foul trouble.
I'd like to see Kira and Zion on the floor together.
If lonzo keeps laying eggs in competitive games he'll be traded before you know it. I'd keep Bledsoe cause at least when he's aggresive, he's decent and can teach up Kira a bit. However, with Lonzo he's terrible cause his decision making has made no significant progress since forever ago. Sure his shot and scoring has improved, but that doesn't make up the End game decisions, turnovers, indecisive driving, that non effective floater, bad transition defense, etc. He's not the person for this team at all. So I say trade him and JJ while they're value is still decent and maybe get us a few young pieces and draft picks.
Much like Bledsoe... I don't think there is a single team wanting to buy into Lonzo right now. Except maybe the super awful like Detroit.
Lonzo has like the worst kind of skillset for a team to invest. There are positive and negative player. He's like a straight up Net Zero player.
Can't make FTs. So, he's too scared to drive. When he drives... He has zero moves to make contested shots. So, he either misses, gets blocked, or worse... get sent to the FT line to split throws. His 3pt shot is all rhythm. So, he has wild spurts and his spacing is simply through volume. He runs offense like it's rec ball league and he constantly gets caught in low IQ positioning on defense.
He doesn't really provide much synergy on offense outside of pocket passes and making shots at horrible efficiency. His on ball defense is really boom or bust while his off ball is simply okay.
Provides no true spacing, no moves or unique shot in his bag, his shot is all rhythm, and his defense is simply mediocre at best. He really can't facilitate consistently and his half court vision is abysmal at time.
That’s just not a worthwhile starter in this league. You maybe be able to off load him for a new fax machine. Player or picks... Nothing worthwhile. Probably a bad multi-year bench player contract in return at best.
I love to see the young guys get minutes and kill it. It’s unfortunate that we have to phase the likes of Bledsoe out until his contract runs or we find a suitable trade partner. And if I’m being honest- Bled isn’t getting anyone excited for a trade. He just isn’t consistent enough.
He's got a thin frame but he's actually 6'3 with a plus wingspan, so a reasonable size for a point guard, and had a strong defensive profile in college. He has a good natural feel for reading passing lanes and he tends to really give effort, with a high defensive motor; at least, that's what he did in college. I have faith that if he puts in the work (and I have no reason to think he won't) that he will be at least an okay defender at the PG position, even if he's not super switchy or anything.
Add to all of that that, for someone with such great passing touch, he's surprisingly terrible at entry passes, which is unfortunate given the existence of Zion.
For me, the hope is that some team like New York still buys some of his hype, but even that's looking increasingly unlikely.
He also provides absolutely no off ball movement. It's so frustrating watching a guy stand still for entire possessions over and over again unless he has the ball. If you watch NAW, he never stops moving.
Adams is soooo good at screening off ball, so it's maddening that the starting guards can neither shoot off a screen nor even move a little bit to open up space for others who can.
If he would've scored 40+ and won the game, that would've been easily one of my favorite games as a fan. He's so fun to watch when he gets going.
It’s sad that this teams needs injuries to let the youngest play and shine.
Rockets really goofed up that trade. Wow... What a bad return.
I wouldn't really say it's sad. There's something to be said for the amount of talent that we've accumulated on this roster, specifically at the guard position.
The big issue is that most of that talent is in the form of 6-7-8th men, and none have really stood out as starters. It's a step up from the days of starting Jordan Crawford and Langston Galloway, but there's a definite need for difference makers at the position. Here's to hoping NAW and/or Kira can be that guy.
Is anyone else a bit worried about Josh Hart as a shooter?
Last 4 seasons from 3:
39.6%
33.6%
34.2%
32.5% (this season)
If he can't hit over 36% of his threes, is he a fit on this team? Is he worth the MLE?