The NBA is a league that is always changing and evolving, and franchises are constantly forced to adapt to survive. The New Orleans Pelicans are a team not built for the current evolution of the NBA, which is focused on attempting and making three-pointers. Until they adapt to this brand of basketball, they will continue to suffer disappointing losses like the one they suffered Thursday night.
The team's lack of three-point shooting has been apparent all season, but it was extremely evident in the Pelicans' 125-116 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Pelicans entered the fourth quarter with six made threes and had a 90-88 lead. To no one's surprise, they blew this game as the Timberwolves outshot the Pelicans from the perimeter six to one in the fourth. At the end of the contest, New Orleans had made just seven threes, and Minnesota had made 15—you can't win a basketball game with that kind of three-point disparity.
The Pelicans are bottom five in both three-point attempts and makes per game this season, and until that changes, this team isn't going to win games consistently. To even have a chance on any given night to compete, the Pelicans have to play borderline flawless basketball because of their lackluster shooting.
One player who can help fix this struggle showed out tonight
Jeremiah Fears was phenomenal tonight and hit two of the Pelicans' seven three-pointers. The rookie finished the game with 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Coming out of college, shooting was one of the biggest red flags in Fears’ scouting report, as he shot under 30 percent from three during his time at Oklahoma. However, he has clearly put in work to improve that aspect of his game, and it's making him even more of a versatile weapon for the Pelicans.
The unfortunate part is that both of Fears' threes came in the game's opening quarter, as even though he's shown consistency early on as someone confident to take and make threes, it's still not a real part of his game. I hate seeing organizations tinker with young players, especially when they are having success just playing their game. But the Pelicans are desperate, and it might genuinely be time for the coaching staff to step in and get Fears to take more threes.
Whether that happens or not, this game against Minnesota was a reminder of how young, smaller guards typically struggle early in their NBA careers. Just look at Rob Dillingham, who was practically unplayable. The second-year Timberwolves guard was rushing shots, making poor decisions as an initiator, and struggling to defend without fouling, all things Fears is already excelling in.
So even though a 3-20 loss is horrifying, the silver lining should be that the organization has at least found its franchise point guard in rookie Jeremiah Fears.