Pelicans inch closer to play-in with blow out of Spurs: 3 takeaways

New Orleans Pelicans: Steals and dunks

The Pelicans have built their identity around defense and now have a number of guys in Herbert Jones, Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado who can get a steal.

The three had six steals combined last night and the Pelicans had 13 overall, so they were able to get out in transition and get some easy buckets, which is crucial with their leading scorer out with injury.

Here you see active hands leading to a Naji Marshall dunk on the other end.

The Pels went from a team that thrived in isolation half court sets last season but couldn’t defend anyone to a team that sometimes struggles in the half court, but gets after it on defense and uses it to create easy shots on the other end.

New Orleans was able to pad their lead in the standings without their team leader and hope to get him back in time for a real run in the play-in tournament.