October 7th - New Orleans Pelicans @ Atlanta Hawks - Preseason - 0-0

[Biasvasospasm]

One thing Gentry will need to figure out is ballhandlers on the second unit. Moore-Redick-Hart won't work. Nobody in that lineup can initiate offense. One option would be to do a quick substitution of one of those guys in at like the 8 minute or 6 minute mark, then run the early substitute back out at around 2 minutes to lead the second unit. Another would be to have Redick in place of Ingram or Zo in the starting lineup. Another would be to just let NAW be the backup point guard.

I wish Kenrich could and would shoot. He is otherwise a really nice player, but there were way too many times tonight the ball swung to him as a wide open player from the wing, he wouldn't take the 3, he would take a couple dribbles in and try to pass or something, and it mostly led to turnovers or bad offense. To a lesser extent Ingram and Melli did this, too, but they mostly took the 3s. These may or may not go down, but if you don't take that shot when you are wide open, it kills the offense.

[Pelicanidae]

I'll take the smiley face as sarcasm...for your sake.

You are right to do so, I was just joking

I don't think anyone expects anyone to ever shoot 50% from 3. At least not on any real volume.

[Pelicanidae]

One thing Gentry will need to figure out is ballhandlers on the second unit. Moore-Redick-Hart won't work. Nobody in that lineup can initiate offense. One option would be to do a quick substitution of one of those guys in at like the 8 minute or 6 minute mark, then run the early substitute back out at around 2 minutes to lead the second unit. Another would be to have Redick in place of Ingram or Zo in the starting lineup. Another would be to just let NAW be the backup point guard.

I completely agree, and I tend towards the solution of just letting NAW be the backup point. Give him the majority of Frank/Moore minutes. He has a wider skillset, is taller and longer than both of them, and is earlier in his career. Moore's contract ends after this year, why invest heavy minutes into him instead of NAW?

[13 - 3]

Are we having fun yet?

[Pelicanidae]

Postgame interview:

16 points
7 rebounds
3 steals
3 assists

Zion on his @NBA preseason debut #WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/3B0NfkKoRb

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 8, 2019

Are you glad that you got the chance in your first game to show off other skills outside of dunking?

Zion: ''Oh yeah, for sure, I don't think just dunking would have got me here, I think I have to be somewhat of a good basketball player to get here so whenever I get a chance to showcase my abilities, I try.''

Difference in physicality from college:

Zion: ''It is a little bit different, people are much clos- uh, much stronger so you know, you have to find more skilled ways to score but I feel like with my size that's not going to be much of a big adjustment. I feel like I'll adjust very well with that.''

Thoughts about pace

Zion: ''You know coach Gentry, all he talks about is fast pace and running, so whenever I get that chance, I go.''

[pelicanchamp]

ZION is going to be so good. OMG

NAW is really really consistent. Have you seen a game where NAW wasn’t impressive? I haven’t.

NAW looks like the steal of the draft. I can’t see any flaw in NAW


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[Pelicanidae]

Just some interesting tweets about the game by some none-Pelicans writers/analysts/voices

The dunk was crazy but boy did I really like that action the Pelicans ran. Pistol type action into a dribble handoff to Zion. Good misdirection/combination of actions. https://t.co/w4YtudleO0

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) October 7, 2019

Hard to envision a better set for Zion. https://t.co/MFXVCKdoWc

— TS% Eliot (@Cosmis) October 8, 2019

Lonzo Ball's shot looks so much better. Mid-30s totally in play this year and a credit to Fred Vinson @CoachFVinson for the work he's put in this summer.

— Ben Taylor (@ElGee35) October 8, 2019

[Pelicanidae]

I think what's most exciting about Zion is not just his huge skillset, and the fact that it's entirely realistic that he'll be a positive impact player in his rookie year, but that there's still room for him to improve.

If someone came into the league this good, but this seemed to be their ceiling, and everything was as good as it was gonna get, that would still be a good player but it wouldn't thrill me quite as much.

But Zion has real touch around the rim, and was a better shooter in college than people seem to think. He has a solid handle for a guy of his size, but it's not perfect and he has room to tighten it up: and we've seen clips from practice and training camp that imply he's doing that. He has fantastic footwork and balance, but he gambles a bit too much on defense which can lead to him being out of position every now and again, but he has the IQ and floor reading ability to improve there. He's an excellent rebounder, but he could do with improving his box out fundamentals a little. He's a solid passer with plus vision, but hasn't got a huge amount of experience running an offense in the half court, and has room to improve there as a decision maker.

None of these are huge flaws, and he's good enough at everything he does to be a strong player even without fixing or improving any of these things and just working on what he's already great at. But his motor runs so high and he seems to really love the game, so you've gotta imagine he's going to improve in those areas too. If he does?

It's over for the NBA

[Wecandothis]

Just preseason but man, that was impressive Zion is very special,his quickness and size is so unique reminds me of a smaller, faster Shaq.Lonzo and Zion already showing great chemistry.Jrue is the perfect leader for this team so underrated,Ingram still likes to ISO and it's effective but I'd like him to be more decisive and not hold the ball too long and I like he's shooting 3's Melli is a good fit I see a very high IQ there, NAW looks special what a steal,Reddick is money I always liked him This team is deep I see them fighting for that 8th playoff spot.

[Wowowowow]

My post game reactions:

First and foremost, I think we will have to get use to something. I think our team brings some type of energy to games where we are going to see a teams highest intensity basketball even for a preseason game. The pace we play with. The intention of playing with perfection that this team has isn’t normal for preseason basketball. I’ve watched ball all my life, this looks different. Last night, that wasn’t the typical preseason basketball game.

Zion: Positives: Dude is about to be a problem. A weapon that’s only in its formative stages. That weakside action rolling play looks unguardable and if you notice, so many people are open on that play. The funny thing is, many players...superstars, can not pull off that play multiple times in a game. It’s like a catch a team off guard play that may happen every once in a while. His offensive awareness for this to be his first game is a rookie is ahead of the curve.
Negatives:
The play and intensity of the pro game and how the Hawks tried from where I was sitting to put him in constant read and reaction plays likely is too fast for him right now. He doesn’t have the veteran awareness right now to know exactly where to stand to be effective. Apart of me also feels like he’s paying his rookie dues right now and just trying not to get in the way. This is really the only part of his game as a rookie I’m waiting to click because once his awareness rises and his motor surpasses the speed of this intense pro game, it’s curtains.

NAW: I know I dissed Griff about dealing the pick, but I’ll be the first to stand up and say what a find. He has all the tools and the speed to be whatever his goal is to be in the NBA and I’m sure it’s super high. Again, he’s a rookie doing this against imo an abnormal preseason intense game. Imagine years of experience under his belt.

ZO: If can knockdown the 3 like he did last night, that’s enough for me. He plays intense defense. He pushes the pace...and last nights pace was alarming...and I get the feeling you no longer can leave him open. If he hits his 3 this year...he’s about to ball out - yes pun.

BI: He was impressive too. BI is going be the midrange game of our team. The pull up jumper and occasional bad shot here and there I won’t mind because of the pace we play with. But to be off for months rehabbing and to jump into the pace of last night and still look like he never left is a testament to his game. This is the Ingram I want to see all season.

Jrue: Yes...still the best player on the floor. Awareness off the charts. Our rookies should be counting their blessings they were drafted to a team with Jrue. In the other thread I mentioned how I could tell what was going on in practice. I still feel that way...but in the intense game like this was...its almost like Jrue had to remind folks what shrewd And savvy looks like.

Okafor: Gentry immediately pulled Favors for Ok who was playing like the best big on the floor at times. The pace might have been too fast for Favors right now in his condition but I’m glad Ok stepped up. I won’t get too gassed up...just like on all these performances and reactions. But he seems to be in the best shape of his life.

Meli/JJ: Oh we have shooters. Melis a pro and he does understand this game. He’s in a situation where he might have to for sure connect percentage wise on his 3s or scrape to find the floor, but I feel good about him as a shooter on this squad just based on the proper spacing he provides. JJ is JJ. He’s going to have games like this and he’s going to have “JJ is on fire from the outside!” games. We shot 45 threes and JJ only took 2. That’s a bright sign.

[6warddude]

this was a good fast pace game...i think we all saw what gentry rotations will be and it will not have 3 rookies in it......hayes is going to the g-league.....naw may push frank out of a spot if his good play is consistent in the preseason.......im glad okafor drop down to 250 and came in shape to run in the offense because i like his inside scoring and rebounding...

i dont like the houston defense we played last night where bigs were rolling to the rim open and guards were picking them up giving up easy points...if we are a top 5 offensive team and we play decent defense then that should get us into the playoffs.......after the let down we had last season,,look like we will bounce back with a playoff seed......

[Snarly]

Defense will be leaky for awhile. Too many new pieces. But when they do put it all together, it’s going to be glorious. You can already see the potential with the individual defenses from several guys. As long as they play with energy and effort, they’ll be fine overall on D.

[Creative]

We have a lot of potential and a wide squad. It will only get better, some time is needed. It was nice game to watch.

[JJackisangry]

Fully convinced that NAW could be rookie of the year if we didn’t have Lonzo ahead of him. Put him on any of those terrible sides where he is the guy and it would not surprise me one bit.

On Favors- do not force him back until he is ready. There really isn’t much of a need with the amount of talent that we have and time is on our side. I don’t want an unnecessary hamstring injury.

[JJackisangry]

Also, I like Melli a lot. He just needs to adjust to the NBA range and he will be a steal.

[pelicanchamp]

Imagine when

Jrue plays 30mpg,
Lonzo 25-28mpg
Ingram 30mpg
Zion 25-35mp
Favors 25-28mpg

Bench:

Okafor: 15-18mpg
Melli: 20mpg
Redick: 20mpg
NAW: 16-20mpg (definitely expect this if he can truly run the point)

Moore: ?
Frank: ?
Kenrich: ? 15mpg?
Hayes: ??

How do y’all think minutes will be distributed?

I think Gentry should cut minutes down for starters similar to GSW did... keep players really healthy rested fresh etc. I think we have the depth to do this.



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[SmontySwilliams]

Was there in person. Wow. This is going to be fun.

[akhan786]

Does anyone else feel like Hart is redundant?

[JJackisangry]

Just looked at the box score. Very impressed with how evenly the points are spread throughout the side.

[Snarly]

Does anyone else feel like Hart is redundant?

Redundant to what?

[Taker597]

Redundant to what?

Let him live. This is probably his first time seeing a team with actual depth and a deep bench.

[AussieHornet]

i cant remember this ever happening before watching basketball but zion just takes my breath away with his explosiveness and control in the air its constant "how did he do that?" i am so excited to watch his progress.

[AussieHornet]

he is a very clever player and obviously has skills to execute. I really liked what I saw.

[Pelicanidae]

i cant remember this ever happening before watching basketball but zion just takes my breath away with his explosiveness and control in the air its constant "how did he do that?" i am so excited to watch his progress.

Zion moves in a way the league hasn't seen since Lebron was in his first stint in Cleveland.

Nobody other than Lebron has had that same combination of size, power, athleticism, speed, etc etc. Some people have had one or two of those things but not all. That massive dunk Zion had over Damian Jones in this game reminded me of a Westbrook's best dunks, except if Westbrook was 4 inches taller and 80lbs heavier and doing it with his off-hand.

Which is bonkers to consider.

[luckyman]

i cant remember this ever happening before watching basketball but zion just takes my breath away with his explosiveness and control in the air its constant "how did he do that?" i am so excited to watch his progress.

Not around during the Jordan years? That's the only other player I ever saw with that natural off the charts athleticism above 6'6". Even Lebron needs a running start or windup. Only MJ could just hop into the air and make your jaws drop.

Until now.