New Orleans Pelicans game day: Keys to Victory

It has been 162 days since the New Orleans Pelicans have played a meaningful game of basketball. Now the wait is over.

May 8th, 2018 seems like a decade ago. This was Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals that saw the Golden State Warriors put an end to the New Orleans Pelicans season, thus sending the Pels into an off-season of uncertainty.

Since then the dust has settled, but the Pelicans find themselves headed into the new season with uncertainty as well. Roster turnover, speculation about Anthony Davis, and a lackluster preseason performance have fans scratching their head about what the 2018-2019 Pelicans will look like.

The cure to any ailment in basketball is simply winning. The Pelicans have a chance to do that when they begin the season on the road against the Houston Rockets. Here are the Pelicans keys to victory.

Control The Paint

The Rockets won the season series 3-1 last year. In three of the four meetings the Rockets out-rebounded the Pels and even had 13 offensive rebounds in one of those games. The Rockets motto has always been ‘3’ or in the key, meaning the Rockets will either jack up a three pointer or run pick and roll to get inside the paint for a lay-up or set up a lob to Clint Capela.

With the woes the Pelicans showed in the preseason with opposition points in the paint, it will be key that the Pelicans keep the Rocket guards from penetrating deep inside the paint. Capela’s activity was especially hard to contain as he averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds a game during the four game season series. Containing his production in the paint will be an important key to victory.

Three-Point Shooting

You live by the three, you die by the three. No greater sentiment can be spoken of for a team than the Houston Rockets. Last Western Conference finals saw them miss an NBA record 27 straight three-point attempts in their heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Warriors. While we don’t expect the Rockets to shoot like that vs the Pelicans, it’s imperative not to let the three-point disparity get out of hand.

The Pelicans actually shot a better percentage than the Rockets in their head-to-head match ups last season, besting them shooting 38 percent to 36 percent respectively. However, the Rockets made 19 more three-pointers than the Pelicans. That’s almost 5 more three-pointers a game. That 15 plus point disparity per game from beyond the arc can easily be the difference between winning and losing.

The Pelicans have been anemic at best shooting the three ball during the preseason. The team only shot 25 percent from the three-point line. Being as the team was only a middle of the pack three-point shooting team last year (tied for 13th in the NBA), then the trend is not pointing to them being a great shooting team this year.

The key in this game will be stopping penetrating and rotating defensively along the three-point line. This will take effort and communication, but it is imperative if the Pelicans want to have a chance in this game.

#DOITBIG

Small ball is all the rage in this current NBA climate. Teams often employ a guard heavy lineup with some semblance of a big man in the middle in order to create mismatches. The thinking is your big guys can’t keep pace with the guards long enough, which will lead to easy baskets whether in transition or a face-paced offensive set. That works both ways you know.

The Pelicans must look to punish any smaller player who tries to guard down low in the post. Often times 6’5 P.J. Tucker found himself playing the power forward position last season for the Rockets. If this proves the same this season, then Nikola Mirotic or Julius Randle must look to be aggressive on offense down low.

On offense the Rockets will look to run pick and roll to switch the defenders onto guarding Chris Paul or James Harden in isolation. The Pelicans must be strategic in sending help and then rotating on the back side to close out on shooters. It will take a total team effort to defend.

Yes the NBA season is finally upon us. All the hopes and aspirations of all 30 NBA teams start now. Here’s hoping that the Pelicans are one of the last teams standing.