New Orleans Pelicans: 4 storylines to watch against the Milwaukee Bucks

Pelicans vs. Bucks: Perimeter woes

One thing that the Pelicans have struggled with all year is defending three-pointers. This has been a constant source of trouble for Stan Van Gundy’s squad and it is definitely something to keep a close eye on in their second encounter against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks have the fourth highest three-point percentage in the entire league and take the sixth most threes. That is definitely worrying for the Pelicans. New Orleans concedes the third most threes per game in the NBA, basically tied with the first and second Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. The Pels encourage their opponents to shoot from the perimeter, but I’m not sure how viable of a strategy this is against the Bucks—especially if they get hot from beyond the arc.

In recent memory, the Pelicans have lost to the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Phoenix Suns partly because of how many threes they gave up. The game against the Suns stands out, not just because of the disastrous fourth quarter that the Pelicans played but because of how Chris Paul constantly shredded them from three. Paul either made threes himself or generated wide open looks for his teammates.

The Pelicans overcommit to their opponents. Simple pick-and-rolls sometimes wreck New Orleans’ offense because so many of the Pels’ players converge onto a couple of players or onto one side of the floor. The Pelicans are then left in a numerical disadvantage and their opponents reap the rewards of that. At times, it’s just too easy.

For instance, Bobby Portis is making half of his threes, formers San Antonio Spurs sharpshooter Bryn Forbes is making 47 percent, Middleton is making 43 percent, and Donte DiVincenzo is making 39 percent. Only three of their players that regularly see game time are sub-35 percent perimeter shooters.