New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Things to Watch in Tonight’s Scrimmage vs. Nets

Who is the New Orleans Pelicans leader?

“When the dogs are looking for their bones…”

The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of different leaders. Redick is the calming veteran presence, Holiday is the soul of the team, and Josh Hart is the heart. Lonzo and Ingram lead by example and Melli keeps everyone loose.

But with Zion out, someone needs to step up.

It will be interesting to see who is the beneficiary of the extra shots that will be there with Zion not in the game.

The two most likely candidates are Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram.

Holiday has found another level in the playoffs in the past, raising his scoring average and being more aggressive on the offensive end. He dropped 41 points on the Blazers in 2017-18 while locking up Damian Lillard, so Holiday can absolutely be the best player on the floor.

Ingram has watched his shot volume decrease since Zion’s arrival, but if Zion is out, B.I. needs to average closer to 20 shots a game than the 16.6 he got in the 17 games he played with Williamson.

Neither is likely to play heavy minutes tonight in the first scrimmage, but it will be interesting to watch who is getting the shots, especially in the half court.

Ingram carried the team offensively for most of the season, and it would be nice to see him step up and seize that role again. He is their most efficient scorer and a guy who can drop 40 points on any given night.

We won’t know everything after tonight’s first scrimmage, but we will get an idea of just how rusty the Pelicans are, how they will handle their rotations and who is going to step up and lead this team.

The Pels are about to break out of that rusty cage and start what they hope is a journey to the playoffs.