New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Things to Watch in the Scrimmage vs. Nuggets

New Orleans Pelicans: Things to watch in scrimmage vs. the Nuggets.

Shot Selection and Half Court Execution

The Pelicans came out shooting the ball well, which was somewhat surprising considering the long layoff.

One area that is always under scrutiny with such a young team is shot selection. The Pelicans have the troubling habit of going stagnant in the half-court offense.

They want to run, to get shots up early and push the pace, but when they can’t, they struggle.

Lonzo Ball took an ill-advised fadeaway jumper after the ball stopped moving in the first quarter and Nickeil Alexander-Walker chucked several 3-pointers early in the shot clock that yielded nothing.

You expect a few bricks in the first game back, so field goal percentage is not as important as shot selection in a scrimmage game.

For most of the game, the Pels’ shot selection was good. They were moving the ball on the perimeter, Jrue Holiday and Lonzo were getting into the lane and Ingram got several good looks from long-range.

But when things slow down in the real games, the Pelicans will need to execute better in half court sets and not settle for contested 3-pointers or off-balance mid-range fadeaways.

Lonzo is patient here, waiting for the two-man game to develop with Hayes after the play is busted.

When the shots aren’t there, they need to be patient, look for seams to penetrate and keep moving on the perimeter. As fast as the Pelicans can be, they stand around too much in half court sets, which is something to keep an eye on.

Can the Pelicans execute their half court offense to get good shots?