The New Orleans Pelicans need to play a little less “ethically”

Since the New Orleans Pelicans hired coach Willie Green, they have developed a team culture built around family and hard work.

Coach Green laid out his 3 non-negotiable rules in the preseason and all of them revolve around playing hard at all times. His group has responded and they go out every night and run through walls for Green. They put their heads down and go for it, win or lose.

However, the Pelicans are still young, and there are certain aspects of the game that they just haven’t mastered yet. I’m not sure if it’s due to experience or it’s just their personalities, but they still don’t know how to manipulate basketball games.

Brandon Ingram has been called one of the most “ethical” hoopers in the league, as his game does not rely on flopping or trying to draw nonsense fouls. He just goes out there and beats you with skill. Drawing fouls is also a skill, but not all NBA players get whistles in the same ways.

The Pelicans not getting the call

Basketball antics tend to be bush league. Some teams (or players) take their antics to an extreme and some do it on a lower level. Teams that win have the tendency to do things to ensure a call goes in their favor, whether it is flailing their arms a bit when they go for the basketball, throwing their heads back when they get contact, or a slight flop on screens.

Every team does it and it either gets some extra possessions or sells the call more to the refs. The Pelicans have to adopt some of these tendencies. This doesn’t mean they have to act like Patrick Beverley, flop like James Harden or sell technical fouls like Jae Crowder, but those types of plays can and will swing a game.

Jaxson Hayes was ejected from game 3 after he shoved Jae Crowder, who actually left his feet, exacerbating the foul and making it look a lot worse than it was. Hayes’ dumb attempt to fire up his teammates not only cost him the rest of the game, but cost the Pelicans points and it was partially because Crowder did a good job selling it.

Cheating the game is bad for basketball. However, in sports, there are ways to manipulate the game in your favor that aren’t necessarily honest but also not dirty. The New Orleans Pelicans are learning that playoff basketball is sometimes about selling a call, and it’s something they need to get better at doing.