New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels have improved their free-throw shooting
Overreaction #2: The Pelicans can shoot free throws!
Free throws were another huge area of weakness last season for the New Orleans Pelicans.
They were near the bottom of the league in free-throw percentage as a team, which caused them to be the worst team in the NBA at closing out games in the clutch time.
If the Pelicans shoot free throws like they did last night, they will be winning a whole lot more of those close games this season.
The Pels were 26 for 31 from the line for 83.9 percent, which was really the difference in the game considering the Heat made only nine free throws total.
Zion Williamson was particularly impressive, going 10 for 11 from the line, looking smooth in the process. Zion is going to get to the line a lot this season, and if he shoots them like this, he is going to be trouble for the league.
Fouling Zion in the paint is currently the only real way to consistently stop him, so this opens up his game even more a could make him a 30 point a game scorer before the season is over.
Steven Adams was the only Pelican to miss more than one free throw, and he accounted for three of the misses, going one for four overall.
The only downside is that Lonzo Ball didn’t shoot any free throws, which is something that has to change if he wants to make the leap as a player.
Speaking of players, let’s overreact!