New Orleans Pelicans: What’s good, what’s not after 10 games

New Orleans Pelicans: The young shooters

The good

Trey Murphy III is shooting 45.5 percent from long range on 5.5 attempts per game, so he has gotten off to a great start.

So has Jose Alvarado, who is making 42 percent of his 3-pointers on 3.5 attempts per game, which are both huge improvements from last season.

I’d love to see TMIII get a few more attempts per game, as he is the Pels’ best shooter and they don’t really run many plays for him. I think that will change as the season goes on which is why he is my darkhorse bet to win Most Improved Player this season.

If Alvarado can keep this up, he’ll be a real weapon off the bench in spurts, as he is already very good at getting into the lane with his dribble penetration.

The bad

Herbert Jones has had a rough start to the season from 3-point range, hitting just 15 percent on 2.2 attempts per game. Jones has found other ways to get involved in the offense, and his overall numbers are up even though his shooting efficiency has been worse. I am not worried about Herb, as he has been struggling with an injury and will improve as the season progresses.

Naji Marshall is shooting just 30 percent from long range on 2.3 attempts per game, which is actually an improvement from last season, but still not very good. Marshall would probably be better off lowering his attempts even more, though hopefully this improvement from last season is a sign of better things to come.

There hasn’t been much to complain about, but it does feel like the Pelicans have blown a few games they should have won early in the season. Let’s hope they can get them back on this home stand and that it doesn’t come back to bite them later.