Pelica Debrief
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New Orleans Pelicans: 3 New Year’s Resolutions to set team for great 2020

By Willie Lutz

NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 15: Lonzo Ball #2 of the New Orleans Pelicans and Brandon Ingram #14 of the New Orleans Pelicans smile during a game against the Orlando Magic on December 16, 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 - DECEMBER 15: Lonzo Ball #2 of the New Orleans Pelicans and Brandon Ingram #14 of the New Orleans Pelicans smile during a game against the Orlando Magic on December 16, 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) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 13: Brandon Ingram #14 and Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans look on after the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on December 13, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Pelicans 116-109. 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. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 13: Brandon Ingram #14 and Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans look on after the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on December 13, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Pelicans 116-109. 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. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Find a way to maximize the offensive tandem of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson when both are active.

If there are two things true about this year’s New Orleans Pelicans squad so far, it’s that Brandon Ingram is a budding star and Zion Williamson is the most anticipated player in recent memory.

Right now, we’re still waiting to see Zion Williamon’s first whiff of NBA action, which seems set for early-to-mid January. Meanwhile, his teammate is taking a lot of the pressure of heavy lifting away from the 19-year-old rookie.

Playing hot basketball in stride to his Western Conference Player of the Week award, Ingram has been one of the true delightful surprises in the league so far this season.

Leading the team in scoring this season, Brandon Ingram has been on a season-long, All-Star-worthy tear through the league.

His 25.3 points per contest rank 11th in the league, while pouring in threes at a 40.9% rate on 5.7 attempts per contest. With a 60.6% true shooting percentage, he’s been nothing short of efficient when it comes to bucket-getting.

However, when Zion returns to the fold, Ingram will have to accept his team-leading 28.8% usage rate will start to fall. Afterall, Zion Williamson is a good enough ball-handler to direct some of the offense (and they should certainly want him to experiment in that role).

With Zion and Ingram both being particularly crafty playmakers, however, I do see pretty wild pick-and-roll potential between these two players.

Early in the season, Ingram was far too reliant on isolation opportunities, especially as the game trickled into deeper and tighter moments. Bringing Zion into the fold should allow a lot more ball movement from all the New Orleans Pelicans, so Ingram will likely receive a lesser burden in key moments.

On paper, the combination of Ingram and Williamson makes a lot of sense as an offensive pairing, but like a lot of things with this team, it’s a matter of time and chemistry more than anything.

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