When the New Orleans Pelicans win, these stats are the key.
The New Orleans Pelicans were able to shut down the Memphis Grizzlies for most of the game and walked away with their first win in the bubble.
Pelicans’ fans know too well what to look for with this team, as they often turn the ball over too much, miss too many free throws and allow the other team to score off turnovers and fast breaks.
Usually you can take a look at the box score and guess whether the Pelicans won without even looking at the score, as their flaws are obvious, especially when things are not going well.
Here are some of the key statistics of the game against Memphis, where the Pelicans were able to avoid some of their demons, but were still plagued by an old nemesis.
27.9% vs. 37.9%
The Pelicans clearly had a game plan against Memphis, which was to pack the lane, limit their points in the paint and force them to take a lot of three-point shots.
It worked, as the Grizzlies hit just 12 of 43 from behind the arc for 27.9%, with Ja Morant hitting just one of ten.
It was a good game plan, as the Grizzlies were on the tail end of a back-to-back and were short on a most of their misses.
The Pelicans hit 37.9% from long-range, right around their season average, but the more important number was the attempts.
The Pelicans only shot 29 three’s in the game, far below their average of 37.3 per game. They were more aggressive taking the ball to the hoop, tried to penetrate more and didn’t just settle for three-point shots.
Normally the Pelicans would lose a game in which they only made 11 three’s, but because they were able to keep Memphis at only 27.9%, it didn’t matter.
The Pelicans need to keep taking what the defense gives them and don’t have to rely on tons of three-pointers to win.