New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart is an Underrated Glue Guy

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 10: Josh Hart #3 of the New Orleans Pelicans: (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 10: Josh Hart #3 of the New Orleans Pelicans: (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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New Orleans Pelicans, Josh Hart, Zion Williamson
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 28: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans and Josh Hart #3 (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Josh Hart and Zion

I was curious to see if the Pelicans had used Hart and Zion together much since the latter returned from injury in late January. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the two have played 224 minutes in the 19 games of Zion’s rookie season. That’s not the most minutes that a Pelican has shared the floor with Zion but it is a good sample.

When Hart and Zion share the floor the pairing they shoot 40.8% from three (15th best Pelican pairing) and have a 57.3% effective field goal percentage (8th best Pelican pairing). This demonstrates that the two of them have a strong connection on the court and should continue to thrive as they get more playing time together.

As a contributor to winning, five of the top six lineups in terms of opponents effective field goal percentage include Hart. These lineups have all kept the opponents’ shooting under 39.8% from the field.

Josh Hart is THE glue guy for this New Orleans Pelicans’ team, his actions contribute to building and maintaining a winning team and culture. Hart allows other players to fill up the sexy stats while he does the dirty work and keeps the team moving.