New Orleans Pelicans: Cook, Diallo standout against Hawks

The 2017 version of the Las Vegas NBA Summer League hasn’t been a good one for the New Orleans Pelicans. They entered the tournament looking for their first win this summer in a contest versus the Atlanta Hawks.

With no real high draft pick to draw attention, the New Orleans Pelicans have had to battle as a team this summer. They are even without their 2017 draft selection, Frank Jackson. They were guaranteed five games coming into the league and looked as that was all they were going to get. However, they earned at least one more game with a 105-95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Wednesday’s first round. The team ran a relatively short rotation of just nine players, with three of them seeing over thirty minutes.

The Pelicans maintained control of the game with a 33-point outburst in the second quarter that saw them outscore the Hawks by 16. They will be in action versus the San Antonio Spurs on July 13th at 4:00 p.m. ET, on NBA TV.

There were just four lead changes in Wednesday’s contest with the Pelican’s largest lead coming at 18 points.

The usual suspects of Quinn Cook and Cheick Diallo led the way against the Hawks. Cook showed a knack to break down opposing defenses with his penetration and was a pest on defense with consistent full court pressure.

Cook was at the forefront of the Pelicans attack, starting the game a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and finished 11-of-16. He managed to get into the middle of the lane multiple times against the lengthy Atlanta defense and showcased his ability to finish with a floater. As always, he paced the team in assists with seven, but did have four turnovers so he can afford to improve from that aspect. As a result of his Summer League play, Cook should see an increase in his rotational role next season.

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Furthermore, another fascinating development is Cheick Diallo’s game. This summer has piqued the interest of NBA minds as they ponder if he can contribute to a strong front court in New Orleans. He matched up with Atlanta’s first round selection, John Collins, and held his own. Although Collins scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Diallo responded with 21 points of his own and was efficient making seven of his nine shots, and seven of his eight free throws.

Diallo also grabbed eight rebounds as he inches closer to a double-double average this summer. Collins got some bragging rights when he dunked on Diallo and Keith Benson.

Other standouts for the Pelicans include plus/minus star Jalen Jones and Axel Toupane. Jones finished a +21, which was by far a team high. He contributed 21 points, most of them coming from the charity stripe (11). Like Cook, Jones struggled with turnovers, committing five of the team’s 16. Toupane knocked down three 3-pointers to finish with 13 points and build on his summer league resume.

What’s Next

Since New Orleans advanced to the second round of the tournament, they get the opportunity to face the Bryn Forbes-led San Antonio Spurs. Forbes leads the league in scoring through four games, averaging 29.3 points per game. If the Pels can slow him down, they have a great chance to advance to the quarterfinals to face either the Toronto Raptors or Portland Trailblazers.

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As mentioned above, the Pelicans were guaranteed five games in this league. Therefore, they will have at least two more games as the tournament is double elimination based. Because of this there are plenty of opportunities to catch the summer league New Orleans Pelicans. You can catch today’s game on NBA TV or on the WatchESPN app.