New Orleans Pelicans: Second Term Report Cards
By Seth Nefsky
T4. Dante Cunningham: B-
It seems that after Dante Cunningham’s rough start in the season’s first term, he has finally recovered to once again be a solid rotation player. Since coming off of the bench at the twilight of the first term, Cunningham has returned to playing more minutes at power forward. This position change has allowed him to become a more valuable asset.
His true shooting percentage has increased from 47.2% in the season’s first term to 60.2% in the second term. A large part of this jump is Cunningham’s increased attempts at the rim. In the first term of the season, Cunningham shot 36.3% of his shots in the restricted area. That number has increased to 40.5% in his second term.
Not only are these shots high percentage, but they have also given Cunningham more opportunities at the free throw line. Cunningham’s free throw rate was just 15.7% in the season’s first term, but in the second term, it has increased to 19%.
The second term of the season has been kind to the 30-year-old POWER forward. Hopefully, Cunningham’s good fortunes continue.
T4. Ian Clark: B-
At this point, there is not much to expect from Ian Clark. It has become pretty clear that he is not very dependable as a rotation regular, but every now and then, he drops a good game to make up for his empty performances. At 6’3” with a 6’7” wingspan, his defense has always been a weak spot, as he is too slow to defend point guards but too small to defend wings.
He can hit the open three and function a tertiary ball handler, but that is about it. Though he has played significantly better than his terrible first term, his second term has been anything but remarkable.