New Orleans Pelicans: 3 things we need to see in the preseason finale
The New Orleans Pelicans have had an up and down preseason coming into the finale against the Utah Jazz.
There have been some positives takeaways from the first three preseason games, but also some disturbing trends.
We can’t get too worried about the latter with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram on the bench, but there are some things that would be nice to see in the final preseason game.
We are starting to see why the Pelicans didn't want to play Lonzo Ball. light. Related Story
So far Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Trey Murphy III have been the most impressive New Orleans Pelicans in preseason, but several other players have yet to get on track.
Here are three things I would like to see in the final preseason game as the Pelicans gear up for the regular season.
New Orleans Pelicans: The half court offense
The Pelicans have looked great at times in the preseason, especially when they are getting stops and getting out in transition.
One of the main things that has changed this year is that the Pels are more athletic, more active defensively and should be able to turn that into fast breaks and open transition shots.
However, they have struggled so far executing in the half court, which is to be expected with Zion Williamson out. Zion is the primary ball handler and the gravity he creates is what makes the Pels’ offense go.
But the Pels need guys other than Zion to be able to initiate the offense and so far Devonte’ Graham, Kira Lewis Jr. and Tomas Satoransky have been inconsistent in this regard.
Other than Lewis Jr., the Pels don’t really have a true point guard, so they need to find ways to initiate the half court offense and keep the ball moving when Zion is not in the game.
This duty could ultimately fall on Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Pels might decide to just go “jumbo” in the starting unit and avoid a traditional point guard altogether. The Pels have been wildly inconsistent in the half court so far, a problem they have had going back to last season, so it would be nice to see more ball movement and better execution in the final tune-up.