Pelicans: 3 ways Brandon Ingram can improve under Stan Van Gundy

Stan Van Gundy’s accountability and scheme can make Brandon Ingram a better defender for the New Orleans Pelicans

Improvement #1- Brandon Ingram’s Defense

You knew that it would start here, defense. Last season, Brandon Ingram, and the whole Pelicans roster for that matter played sparingly on the defensive end of the floor. That resulted in the team having the 20th ranked defense in the NBA.

For Brandon Ingram, the defense was about as bad as you could get from a starting wing, but it didn’t have to be. When looking at Brandon Ingram, I see a player who could be a good a defender in the NBA. He has the length to do it, with a 7′ 3″ wingspan, he just needs to improve his fundamentals.

That’s where Van Gundy can help Ingram. As a defensive minded coach who holds his players accountable on that end of the floor, Ingram will learn quickly that he needs to focus on the defensive schemes Van Gundy teaches in practice or he won’t be on the floor.

That might seem harsh, but it’s how a coach can get a player to buy-in on defense, and if Ingram does buy-in, watch out! Brandon Ingram will only improve if he’s playing defense at a high level because he’ll use his length to press ball-handlers and force turnovers which will then give him more opportunities to shine on the offensive end of the floor.

It’s also interesting to note that if Ingram does buy in on defense and use his length then the Pelicans as a unit can also be better at defending the paint, a skill that they were one of the worst in the league at last year. Of course, there’s still more to Ingram’s game that could be improved too.