Pelica Debrief
Fansided

Pelicans look a whole lot scarier after Halloween win over Denver

ByWillie Lutz|
NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 31: Jaxson Hayes #10 and Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans celebrate after the game against the Denver Nuggets on October 31, 2019 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 31: Jaxson Hayes #10 and Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans celebrate after the game against the Denver Nuggets on October 31, 2019 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)

The New Orleans Pelicans were slow out of the gate, but on Halloween night looked a lot more like the team fans hoped to see at the beginning of the season.

Halloween night was set up for a true trick-or-treat for fans of the New Orleans Pelicans, especially with the Nikola Jokic (the Joker!) and his Denver Nuggets rolling into town. Not tricked out of their first win of the campaign, the Pelicans delivered a very great treat on Thursday.

Already a boost to their unit was Jrue Holiday‘s return to the starting lineup after two games dealing with a left knee sprain. It was his presence that really got the team and ball moving to start the night against Denver. He looked sharp as ever on defense and impactful on offense.

Holiday got the ball moving early and came out of the gate drilling three-point looks. Shooting a solid 5-of-9 from behind the arc, Holiday finished with 19 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. He also led a 17-4 run to start the second half that really pulled the Pelicans ahead for much of the back half of the game.

Most interesting on the night, however, was a haunting performance off the bench from Frank Jackson, who the Nuggets thought was the Frankenstein monster last night.

Jackson looked in command in his 19 minutes of relief for Holiday, crushing 4-of-6 of his threes and going 8-of-10 from the floor, finishing with 21 points. Nuggets’ defensive savant Gary Harris simply couldn’t keep the young guard in check.

The team really had it going from beyond the arc as a whole. They shot 15-of-33 from three last night, a 45.5% clip as a team.

However, the big winner of Halloween night was Jahlil Okafor, who continues to greatly outplay his 2-yr., minimum contract. Okafor got the starting nod again in absence of Derrick Favors, who has missed two straight games with right knee discomfort.

Giving a ‘meh’ defender in Jokic all the work on the inside, Okafor scored 26 points with 5 rebounds, getting to the line to hit 10-of-13 from the free-throw stripe.

Okafor continues to shine for this squad, averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds, and shooting 70.4% from the floor. He’s also getting to the line and converting, hitting his 3.7 attempts per night at a 75% rate to start the season. If Favors needs more time to rest, Okafor could steal a starting spot.

One thing that definitely held true from the first four games was the dominance of Brandon Ingram, who looks like the Most Improved Player frontrunner.

Playing a team-high 36 minutes, Ingram found his teammates with ease and played unselfish basketball in a beautiful kind of way. Ingram scored 25 points, but his 5 assists were all gems.

If the Pelicans keep this up, they’re a clear playoff contender, especially with Zion waiting to arrive at the end of 2019.

Last night, the New Orleans Pelicans took on one of the best teams in the Western Conference and beat them in just about every phase of the game. Winning 122-107 over the Nuggets is a feat for any team, as they’re off to a 3-2 start after finishing second in the West last season.

For the first time this season, the Pels found their stride on the defensive end of the floor, holding Denver to a 26.9% rate from three, as they only made 7-of-26 looks from that range. They also held an aggressive Nuggets team to just 16 free throws, while shooting 32 of their own.

If this team looks like they did last night, they’re going to be hard to contain on both ends of the floor.

Starting with the ball in Jrue Holiday’s hands on the offensive end, but then trusting the team to move the ball until it finds an open target is a way Alvin Gentry best runs his scoring unit. Seemingly, tonight checked a lot of boxes for the coach after a confusing opening to the year.

While the ball slowed a tad to improve their quality of possesions, this team is super dangerous when they’re playing fast. They currently rank ninth in the NBA in pace, but fourth in effective field goal percentage, shooting 55% clip as a team.

With Stephen Curry breaking his hand against the Phoenix Suns, the 1-3 Golden State Warriors look less and less likely to be the playoff team we thought they could be at the start of the year.

The Western Conference playoff bubble is an attainable spot for this New Orleans Pelicans team, especially if they can stay close to a 50% winning rate by the time Zion Williamson debuts.

Right now, the team is 1-4, but have played a tough schedule against five teams that could all easily make the playoffs, some even as top two-or-three seeds.

Heading in the right direction now after a slow start, the New Orleans Pelicans must hope to stay healthy and keep finding chemistry on the offensive end of the floor.

Heading into November with their first win of the 2019-2020 season, the New Orleans Pelicans will have to stay hot, hitting the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were a playoff team a season ago and are a hurdle the Pels will have to clear if they want to make the leap.

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