Taking a look at how recently drafted Kira Lewis Jr. can be utilized in Stan Van Gundy’s offense for the New Orleans Pelicans
Last night, the New Orleans Pelicans made a head-scratching move by selecting Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. with the 13th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Given that the team has such obvious holes on the wing and at center, many Pelicans evaluators including myself thought they’d go in that direction.
Instead, the organization selected Lewis Jr. a combo guard who possesses blazing speed and one of the draft’s best scoring abilities. Considering the team had other holes to fill, this move felt questionable last night, but I’m willing to embrace it as one that could turn into a smart play.
The reason I feel this way is because the Pelicans roster is still not locked in for opening night yet, as David Griffin said last night, and because Stan Van Gundy will be coaching Lewis. That second part is a huge factor we cannot underrate.
Stan Van Gundy has a history of turning tweener combo-guards into All-Stars in his system. We’ve seen it happen a few times with Dwayne Wade and Jameer Nelson as the famous examples. Even to a lesser degree with Reggie Jackson in Detriot too. So while many Pelicans may be displeased with the pick, here are three ways Kira Lewis Jr. can be utilized in Stan Van Gundy’s offense to make him a great selection.
Stan Van Gundy could empower Kira Lewis Jr. to play on-ball as a dynamic pick-and-roll threat for the New Orleans Pelicans
#1-Pick-And-Roll Play
One of the reasons I can make sense of Lewis’ selection is because Stan Van Gundy’s offense is heavily based on running the patterned pick-and-roll. When watching Kira Lewis Jr. play at Alabama it seems like he always ran his offense through the pick-and-roll too.
This could be an early indication the New Orleans Pelicans are attempting to give Stan Van Gundy the proper personnel to run his system, by giving him a dangerous combo-guard who excels in one of his key plays.
See many fans were outraged that the Pelicans picked Lewis when Lonzo Ball is already on the roster, but Ball is nowhere near the scoring threat that Lewis is so defenses know if Ball’s in the pick-and-roll he’s likely looking to make plays.
With Lewis, the Pelicans will have a guard who’s great at attacking the basket with downhill speed and has an impressive array of tricks that includes floaters, step-backs, and pull-ups. Put that scoring ability in a pick-and-roll combo with Zion Williamson for example and defenses won’t know who to emphasize defending.
Now some fans think this hurts Lonzo Ball if he’ll still be on the roster, but it might not. Adding Kira to the lineup could actually help Lonzo by letting him improve as an off-ball player. This flexibility could help Lonzo to be a better shooter from deep. In fact, Van Gundy might even think about running some dual point guard pick-and-rolls that his former assistant coach Steve Clifford ran with Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin in Charlotte.
So, you’re still not buying Lewis’ potential? Not sold on playing him on the ball with Lonzo Ball on the roster? Well, consider this.
Stan Van Gundy could make Kira Lewis Jr. an imposing off-ball scorer for the New Orleans Pelicans that defenses will struggle to defend
#2 – Off-Ball Scoring
I like to think of this utilization of Kira Lewis Jr. as the Lou Williams role. Throughout the draft process, I compared Kira Lewis Jr. to Lou Williams with good merit because like Williams, Lewis is really a smaller shooting guard who gets asked to play the point guard position.
Since that’s the case, I could see the New Orleans Pelicans benefitting from playing Lewis as a shooting-guard at times even though he’s only 6’3″. I wouldn’t necessarily risk playing him there full time but I think in crunch time moments, putting Lewis there could be deadly for the Pelicans.
That’s because Kira Lewis Jr. is such a great scorer and shooting from beyond the arc. So picture it, Lonzo Ball is running the point and he’s operating the offense in a close game. The defense clues in on his pick and roll with Zion Williamson, and they cover up Brandon Ingram. Now what?
Throw the ball out to Kira Lewis Jr. and let him work. Make him a microwave scorer. At some points, he could have easy 3 point shots that are wide open, and considering he hit 36 percent of his threes at college he’ll likely make a lot of those.
If an easy shot isn’t there well Lewis can still play shooting guard and use his top-notch speed to hit larger defenders with a move. That move could result in Lewis making space for a shot or taking advantage of his defender’s aggression to attack the basket.
Still nothing happening? Well at his worst, Lewis can use the threat of scoring to draw defenders in and then quickly whip the ball back out to the perimeter.
If that potential still isn’t selling you on Lewis, I got one more idea that could.
Kira Lewis Jr. could be the key to Stan Van Gundy unlocking a devasting small-ball lineup with the New Orleans Pelicans
#3- Small-Ball
The modern NBA is all about play positionless basketball and that’s exactly where the New Orleans Pelicans could be trending with the selection of Kira Lewis Jr. In many ways, I think it could signal the New Orleans Pelicans running their own version of the Golden State Warrior’s “death lineup”.
It would like this. Kira Lewis Jr. running the point, Lonzo Ball playing shooting guard, and Josh Hart operating as the small forward with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson commanding the frontcourt. Would it work?
I’m not sure but I think Stan Van Gundy will try it especially after he spent a couple of seasons away from coaching and watching the Warriors wreak havoc on the league as a commentator for TNT. If it does work, it could be genius and make Kira Lewis Jr.’s selection look brilliant.
Just think about it, that Pelicans lineup can in spurts overwhelm their opponents with pure speed and athletism. Teams who play traditional or bigger lineups will then struggle to keep up and find themselves open to an offensive attack that would see quick drives on fastbreaks by speedy guards, easy lobs at the rim to one of the most athletic players in the NBA, and a barrage of 3 pointers.
The Pelicans could be down by five points in a game, release that attack and then suddenly be up by nearly twenty points on their opponent if they could figure out how to harness and use that lineup properly.
The key to it would be Lewis, without Lewis’ generational speed this attack wouldn’t work as well, no question about it. Lewis’ speed meshes perfectly with Lonzo Ball’s and the athletic abilities of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.
Now, do you see what I see Pelicans fans? Kira Lewis Jr. may not have been the right pick or the guy I wanted but if utilized properly in Stan Van Gundy’s system, he could be an X-factor on this team and help guide them to playoff contention in the Western Conference.