Pelica Debrief
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New Orleans Pelicans Summer League Grades

By Christopher Dodson

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 24: Nickeil Alexander-Walker #4 of the Virginia Tech Hokies defends against the Liberty Flames in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Photos via Getty Imagess via Getty Images Men's Basketball Tournament held at SAP Center on March 24, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Imagess via Getty Images Photos via Getty Images via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 24: Nickeil Alexander-Walker #4 of the Virginia Tech Hokies defends against the Liberty Flames in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Photos via Getty Imagess via Getty Images Men's Basketball Tournament held at SAP Center on March 24, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Imagess via Getty Images Photos via Getty Images via Getty Images) /
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The New Orleans Pelicans just missed out on the NBA Summer League Finals. After falling to the Memphis Grizzles, an evaluation of the Las Vegas action is heavy on positive revelations.

Fred Vinson led the New Orleans Pelicans adventure to the cusp of the championship game. The team fell 88-86 to the Memphis Grizzlies, ending the Las Vegas adventure.

Zion Williamson posted the first highlight dunk of his career, ripping the ball and the moment from Kevin Knox. Jaxson Hayes kept the Pelicans in the highlight reel rotation with an assaulting dunk to match Zion’s. Credit Nickeil Alexander-Walker with the assists, of course. Hayes insists.

Frank Jackson posted a thirty-spot in against the New York Knicks and sat on his scoring champ status. Alexander-Walker finishes in third, averaging 24.3 points. He did have an off night against Memphis.

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The start of Summer League action was welcomed like never before, both by Pelicans fans and the NBA world-at-large. Only a glimpse of Zion’s full potential was featured, but the future after Anthony Davis is now.

Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and Brandon Ingram all flocked to Las Vegas to scope out the new rookies. Fresh out of college ball, the adjustment to the pro game can be difficult. Especially in the frantic Summer League setting. Still, most of the players got enough time on the court to assign them summer grades.

Christian Wood was on the roster but never touched the court. His situation with the team is tenuous at best, between contract negotiations and trade options. Luke Petrasek and Makoto Hiejima barely played at all, but surely enjoyed their time with an NBA club.

All three would have to receive incomplete grades. Wood’s future with the team is still to be determined. Petrasek and Hiejima’s best hopes are to be invited back to Las Vegas again next summer.

Frank Jackson is officially healthy and done with playing in Summer League games. Jackson started finding his form during the stretch run last season. Jackson connected on an efficient 11-17 against the New York Knicks. He hit five three-pointers in just 23 minutes. Jackson got his teammates involved but took his shot when they were available. That is all that will be needed of him during the regular season.

Frank Jackson SUMMER GRADE: A+

Jackson’s role in the New Orleans Pelicans team during regular season play was all but solidified. However, there was one guard pushing for regular-season minutes. The wall of back-to-back games pushed back against the rookie in the semi-finals.

It was a pleasantly successful run for the New Orleans Pelicans Summer League squad. Now that the toil of four games in a week has been experienced, the rookies should realize the importance of offseason conditioning.

They’ll want to look good for their regular-season debut. If not, they could face a G-League demotion as soon as preseason.

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