New Orleans Pelicans: 2 Strategies to beat the Miami Heat on Christmas

Offensive Strategy- The New Orleans Pelicans should get Brandon Ingram going early and use his skill set to break Miami’s defense

The offensive focal point for the New Orleans Pelicans against the Heat should be Brandon Ingram. He was the team’s best player against Toronto and served as the key to their victory.

In layman’s terms, he’s this team’s zone-breaker. While Eric Bledsoe, Lonzo Ball, and Zion Williamson can all be great scorers for stretches, they’re relatively one-dimensional right now, but Ingram isn’t.

Brandon Ingram can pass, shoot, and attack from anywhere on the floor. If he has the ball in his hands, the threat of him scoring will help the Pelicans so much against Miami’s defense. Less motion will also lower the Pelicans’ chances of turning the ball over.

If Ingram gets going early, shooting from deep on Miami’s zone looks, then the Heat will likely shift their defensive gameplan, and that’ll open up the offense for the rest of the Pelicans. With Miami’s 2-3 zone not in place, Zion Williamson and Steven Adams will be free to man up against Adebayo to score. We already saw Zion do this with great success in the team’s preseason matchup with Miami.

But back to Ingram’s shooting, considering how important the Heat make the 3 point shot in their games, Ingram should be encouraged to shoot often. Let’s just face it, in the starting lineup, Ingram is the best shooter on the floor and his stroke could be the difference-maker in this game.

So a Brandon Ingram-heavy offense sounds good, but what about the defense?