The NBA preseason does not illuminate much when it comes to the quality of a team. The small sample size (four games), desire to not get injured and general apathy makes it hard for any real truths to come from these games.
Winning games and lineup rotations are often not comparable to regular season play and should not be judged as if they were.
There are, however, some things you can learn from these glorified scrimmages. For the New Orleans Pelicans, it will be important to see what Rajon Rondo’s role looks like.
Will he be handling the ball the majority of the time? His off-ball shooting numbers are good while his off the dribble shooting is terrible. It would be smart for the Pelicans to then allow Jrue Holiday to run the offense more as teams will sink low on Rondo pick and rolls.
He will need to spend more time off the ball because of this and shoot the threes given to him.
Rondo is one of the many crucial pieces of this team and his willingness to not be ball dominant will be important. If he continues to be the ball needy, assist seeking, reluctant shooter that he has been, the Pels may be in for some trouble.
How often the New Orleans Pelicans run 4/5 pick and rolls will be interesting to monitor. A DeMarcus Cousins/Anthony Davis PNR worked pretty well at the tail end of last season and will hopefully continue to be a part of the offense.
The amount of time spent running horn actions should also be noted. Horn actions are when AD and Boogie set screens for the ball handler on either side. Usually, AD then dives to the hoop while Boogie drifts back behind the three-point line. It was another play they ran with success last season.
While these plays would be great to see over the next few weeks, Alvin Gentry may not yet want to reveal what plays they have at their disposal.
Ian Clark is a player that will be important to watch as well. His comfortability in the pick and roll will be interesting to see in the preseason as he will likely have more ball-handling responsibilities than he has had in the past.
When Holiday and Rondo are off the court, Clark will be the man with the ball in his hands. While Cousins and Davis will have the majority of the scoring opportunities, they will still need someone to get them the ball. The New Orleans Pelicans are expecting Ian Clark to be that person.
Next: Player Breakdowns: Jrue Holiday, Swiss Army Knife
The preseason was shortened because of lack of importance and fan interest. However, if you are interested in watching some of these games, these are the things that are important.