Pelicans: Rebounds, Zion Williamson weren’t enough to overcome defense

New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels need to make more corner 3-pointers

Another thing that sticks out when looking at the chart is how few corner-three attempts the Pels had on the season. Shooting that few corner-threes saw the Pels finish 20th in frequency from the corner. This is one of the three most efficient shots in the game, shooting that few attempts won’t cut it anymore. For context, the Pels took 539 shots from the corners this season, Zion took 810 shots near the rim that is simply astounding.

President of Basketball Operations, David Griffin, has already spoken on the matter of bringing in more shooters for next season in his end-of-year press conference. I would expect the Pelicans outside shooting to improve naturally (no one on the team was red-hot this season) and get a boost from injured players getting more time as well as future additions to the roster.

As basketball has turned away from the midrange two-pointer, it is a little refreshing to see the Pelicans are still able to make those shots when they happen. The 44 percent that New Orleans shot from the long midrange ranked sixth in the league this season.

While we all wish fewer of those shots would be taken, very often in the playoffs those are the kind of shots that opposing defenses will force the Pels into taking. If New Orleans can keep making those shots nearly 50 percent of the time, defenses won’t be able to sag off that far out and this will create more space for the ball handler.

That was the offensive end of things for the Pels this season. Certainly, there are some strong points to build on, points per game and two-point shooting chief among them. Some real weaknesses will need to be addressed, three-point and free-throw shooting are the primary targets. All in all, the offense this season was above average and when the keys to the offense are being given primarily to three guys who can’t yet rent a car, that’s not so bad.