New Orleans Pelicans: Starting shooting guard battle heats up

Going into training camp, one question loomed large for the New Orleans Pelicans. After a victory over the Mavericks and a big loss to the Pacers, the starting spot at shooting guard is still largely unsettled.

After two preseason games, the battle for the New Orleans Pelicans starting shooting guard spot is still being fought. Former Bull and Magician E’Twaun Moore has been the starter in each contest, providing a steady hand for the rotating lineups that have featured minutes for 16 different Pelicans through two games.

However, lottery draftee Buddy Hield has worked his way into his own share of minutes backing up Moore. Hield presents the more smooth fit next to the other starters, but Moore has the savvy and size to stand his own on both sides of the ball no matter the matchup. Here’s how things stack up with the Pelicans heading into Shanghai for their next two preseason games against the Houston Rockets:

Buddy Hield

After two games, Buddy Hield – coming off the bench to play 27 minutes per game – has put up shots in bunches on his way to nearly 19 points per game. He’s dished a couple assists, rebounded fairly well, but most importantly, he’s been efficient.

Hield has shot a combined 15-26 from the field, unassailably great for any player adjusting to a reduced role and a new game. Even better, these nice shooting nights have featured a sterling 5-11 mark from behind the three-point line. After a Summer League performance that over-extended Hield and often left him appearing uncomfortable, it’s nice to see Hield transition seamlessly into a more realistic role so far in October.

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Buddy figures to operate largely from the corner when he plays this year; with Solomon Hill and Anthony Davis both comfortable with the ball in their hands, there’s less pressure on Hield to make plays in the half court. However, if he can make open shots and work for secondary looks after the defense begins to twist itself around, he’ll provide value next to the starters.

One place that Buddy could provide value over Moore or others is in transition, considering the Pelicans’ continued emphasis on pace. Hield shot 44.3% on transition threes last year at Oklahoma per Hoop-Math, and it doesn’t take much of an imagination to see him filling the Ray Allen-trailing shooter role for a transition-heavy team like the one New Orleans hopes to be. A cool 42% of his total looks at the rim came in transition, a nice number that calls to mind an analytics haven of threes and layups.

Lastly, Hield figures to provide value by consistently making the types of shots that capital-S Scorers are born to take. In Oklahoma last year, Hield made 16 of his 36 threes with five or less seconds on the shot clock, a nice indicator of his comfort pulling up from long range under pressure. That was his go-to when the shot clock was running out, and he made opponents pay for letting him get those looks off.

The defense is going to be a struggle, especially if we’re under the assumption that whoever wins this battle will see the majority of their minutes next to the undersized Tim Frazier. Hield has a longer wingspan than Moore and fully looks the part of a stout defender, but has failed to live up that potential. His college numbers were boosted by an overall strong Oklahoma defense (6.3 defensive win shares over four seasons), and the first year of his NBA career will be an upward battle against the negative defensive reputation he developed in college.

E’Twaun Moore

E’Twaun had the best individual performance of his career last season in what became a lost year for the Bulls. He has a nifty pull-up off the pick-and-roll that he worked to perfection within the motion-based system that Fred Hoiberg hoisted upon an ill-fitting roster last year. He also has dazzling focus and foot speed on defense, and the locker room presence to earn love within a Chicago backcourt that featured two All-Stars.

In New Orleans, he will be faced again with the simpler looks manufactured by motion systems, except instead of Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose, he’ll have Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday roaming around him by the end of the year.

He shot a nice 43.1% on pull-up two-point attempts last year, which is relatively efficient considering the difficulty associated with those shots. Those looks will be there, especially in smaller lineups; the gravity of having shooting at every position stands to benefit a player like Moore the most, giving him the room to work his style over several consecutive possessions. He has reduced his average field goal attempt distance each year in the league, per Basketball-Reference. That seems to be a result both of the ball being in his hands more with each passing season, as well as a more nuanced understanding of his own strengths. Moore won’t shoot lights out, but he’ll get the job done, and he’ll know where and when to shoot.

Besides inflated seasons in Orlando where he often lifted too big a load, last season he showed the most encouraging statistical signs on defense of his entire career. He returned to earning a full defensive win share, while handling a return to large minutes doses without resorting to extra fouling or turnover-hunting. In a way, Moore’s stationary steal numbers are encouraging here; his style of defense is about positioning and physicality, not reaching and teaching.

Moore represents a more certain bet for coach Alvin Gentry. Especially with Jrue Holiday missing extended time early in the year, the defensive sure-handedness and ability to handle the ball that Moore provides are vital. However, his shooting is worse and his play-making might be even more valuable as the focal point of bench lineups.

He shot only 1-5 from three in a tough matchup against a still-solid Pacers defense, but posted a minus-five overall for the night. He ought to have taken better advantage over a smaller player like Monta Ellis, especially next to his regular season partner in crime Tim Frazier for the first time. In both games, his ball movement has failed to produce assists even in the quick-paced environment of the NBA preseason.

It’s of course a tough decision, but it’s the kind a veteran coach like Alvin Gentry has made throughout his career. The trade-off between candidates is not as stark as it has been in recent Pelicans seasons, and that’s great. But the result of the training camp and pre-season battle has real repercussions in the short and long term. Hield’s immediate development (and E’Twaun’s, for that matter) hinges on how his minutes and role are handled this fall, but giving him the time he needs is almost guaranteed to push New Orleans down in the standings. Moore’s happiness and production in the first year of a four-year deal will set the stage for the next three, during which this team hopes to contend for a championship and bring Anthony Davis back for a third contract.

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Keep all of this in mind when weighing the relative strengths and weaknesses of each option; in a nutshell, the decision might appear easy based on your vision for the team. However, it’s all considered at once; the Pelicans decision-makers have to juggle development, production, and contentment all at once to make the best overall decision. Who you got?

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