New Orleans Pelicans: Positives and Negatives from Win over the Nuggets

New Orleans Pelicans: Shot selection was better against Denver

Shot Selection and Shooting

One of the things to look for in a scrimmage is shot selection. You expect players to miss some open shots after such a long layoff, but are they good shots? In the first game, the Pelicans took some ill-advised shots early in the possession and Gentry clearly made it a focal point in the second game.

The Good: The shot selection was much better overall. The Pelicans were more patient in the half court if the fast break wasn’t there, and for the most part, didn’t do too much chucking. They finished the night 15 for 36 from 3-point range for 42%, which they will take any time.

The Pelicans shot 51% overall, controlled the pace for most of the game, were very aggressive and got into the lane at will, which opened up a lot of good shots.

The Bad: Nickeil Alexander-Walker was much better overall. He was more patient and didn’t force the action as much, though he did take a couple of early 3-pointers again. He had a classic “NO, NO, NO, YES!!” 3-pointer in the first half when he pulled up for a semi-contested 3-pointer with about 20 seconds left on the shot clock.

He shot 8-19 overall, but just 2 of 8 from long-range. NAW needs to continue to be aggressive with penetration and stop taking so many contested 3-pointers.

Another thing to watch for is free throw percentage. The Pelicans are the second worst free throw shooting team in the NBA, which is going to be a problem in close games. They left another seven points on the table last night, making 20 of 27 from the line, 74% as a team.

This is actually better than their average, but is still not great and will definitely come back to haunt them in a close game. None of the starters even shot a free throw, which is also concerning. Both Holiday and Lonzo Ball need to get to the line more often and to convert once they do.

Free throws are the Achilles’ heel of the New Orleans Pelicans and they simply must do better if they want to beat good teams when the games matter.