New Orleans Pelicans: 3 methods Gentry can use to save slow start

Gentry needs to find balance in the New Orleans Pelicans’ guard rotation, especially late in games

Starting off the year with such a hefty portfolio of guards, Alvin Gentry has been tasked with trying a find a way to give all of his players the minutes they deserve.

In the first game of the season in Toronto, Alvin Gentry made a truly mystifying decision to sit Redick and Ball down the stretch. Lonzo Ball sat the entire fourth quarter before looking to him to factor into the team’s eventual overtime collapse.

Ball is averaging 13.7 points and 6.7 assists, with a lot of the Pelicans offense running through his ball movement, in addition to Jrue Holiday‘s own influence in the passing game.

Redick is averaging 11 points and shooting 47.4% from three-point range to start his run as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.

While Ball and Redick sometimes have limitations, they’ve played well in starting roles and Alvin Gentry cannot afford to go away from their skillsets late in games this season. They’re both two of the more established players on the entire roster, though Redick is 12 years older than Ball.

Off the bench, Josh Hart and Frank Jackson are putting together impressive starts to the season.

One of the few holdovers from last year’s roster, Jackson is getting to the rim and averaging 9.3 points and 1.7 assists as the team’s scoring-and-defensive guard off the bench.

Hart is crushing it from three-point range, hitting a few big looks from that territory while shooting 40.7% to start the year. He’s also averaging the second-most points on the team, recording 18 per game so far in the campaign.

For others in the guard rotation, it’s not been as fruitful of a start.

As previously mentioned, Nickeil Alexander-Walker isn’t having the impact most had hoped after watching him thrive in the exhibition activities of the last few months. Averaging 3.7 points and 2.7 assists, he’s playing like a rookie, which is kind of surprising.

Playing out-of-control, as teams have started to leave him wide-open to shoot a 21.4% rate from three, though he’s attempting 4.7 of those shot types per night.

While the team wishes they could rely on their star veteran guard in Jrue Holiday, he’s been off to a slow start to the 2019-2020 season. Holiday is averaging just 10.5 points, shooting 30.8% from the floor, 66.7% from the free-throw line, and a truly disappointing 11.1% from three-point range.

Simply, Alvin Gentry has to rely on the guys who come through or have at least played well to start the season. Holiday will have to remain on the floor, but he really needs to start hitting a higher percentage of his looks from three-point territory.

This Pelicans team is blessed with a deep roster of guards, but balance is going to be the key to keeping all of these players happy and thriving throughout the 2019-2020 NBA season.