The New Orleans Pelicans have had a roller coaster of an offseason that included trading out Lonzo Ball for Devonte’ Graham.
Lonzo ended up on the Chicago Bulls after the Pels were able to orchestrate a sign-and-trade, and Graham came over in a sign-and-trade of his own before promptly signing a four year extension with the Pelicans.
There are some ways that Devonte’ Graham is a better fit for the Pelicans than Lonzo Ball, but on paper, this doesn’t look like much of an upgrade except for the fact that Graham makes half as much as Ball.
Their stats are very similar, as both shot over 37 percent from long range on a high volume of attempts last season while mostly playing off the ball.
But there is one area where Graham is decisively better, and it happens to be an area of real weakness for the New Orleans Pelicans.
The New Orleans Pelicans are terrible in the clutch
The New Orleans Pelicans were one of the worst teams in the “clutch” last season, coughing up ten double-digit leads, which was really the difference in them making the play-in tournament or not.
The Pels had the 19th rated offense in clutch time, which is basically the final two minutes of a close game.
The Pels struggled to close out games in the 4th quarter, partially because they played way too much isolation ball and partially because they couldn’t make free throws.
These are areas where Devonte’ Graham should be a big upgrade over Lonzo Ball, who was one of the Pels’ worst clutch players, which is supported by some surprising statistics.
New Orleans Pelicans: Devonte’ Graham is a much better shooter in the clutch than Lonzo Ball
One of the reasons that the New Orleans Pelicans lost so many close games was because Lonzo Ball stunk in the clutch.
This wasn’t all his fault, as the Pelicans often relied on an isolation-heavy offense featuring Zion Williamson trying to plow through four defenders. This left Lonzo Ball standing at the 3-point line most of the time, which is probably not his strength as a player.
But for a guy who had a reputation as a “big game” player entering the NBA, Lonzo Ball sure didn’t play like it in close games.
Lonzo shot just 37.8 percent from the field in clutch time and just 34.8 from 3-point range. The Pelicans had an 11-17 record when Ball was on the floor in clutch time games.
Compare that to Devonte’ Graham, who shot 45.2 percent from the field in the clutch, and an outstanding 42.9 percent from 3-point range which led to the Hornets having a 14-12 record, which is why the Hornets made the play-in tournament and the Pelicans didn’t.
Graham had a +/- of 2.1 in the clutch while Lonzo’s was only 0.1, so Graham was a decisively better player in close games.
But there is another way he will help the New Orleans Pelicans close out in the 4th quarter.
New Orleans Pelicans: Devonte’ Graham will be an upgrade at the free-throw line
Lonzo Ball is one of the worst free-throw shooting point guards in the NBA and it often killed the New Orleans Pelicans.
I’ll give him some credit for improving to 78 percent from the line, as Lonzo had Shaq-like percentages for the first few years of his career.
But he only shot 1.2 a game, so who cares?
Graham isn’t a high-volume free throw shooter either, as he took just 2.9 per game, but that is more than double Lonzo Ball, so he will be an upgrade.
This is even truer in the clutch, as Graham not only averaged more free throws late in games but he knocked down 90.9 percent of them.
Lonzo Ball’s free throw percentage in the clutch was only 70 percent. He not only didn’t get to the line, but made a below average percentage of them when he did.
Devonte’ Graham may not be as good a passer or defender as Lonzo Ball, but he is not a drop off anywhere else offensively and is much better in close games, which could lead to a couple of extra wins for the New Orleans Pelicans.