NBA standings ordered by 3-point attempts: Pelicans falling behind the ball

At 2-1, the New Orleans Pelicans seem to be in a good spot to start the season. A quick temperature poll of the fans would disprove that, however, as the optimism surrounding this team has tanked quickly since the campaign began.

The Pelicans may have a winning record and they might technically be a top-three team in the Western Conference right now, but the way they've gotten there hasn't inspired much confidence. So far, New Orleans has beaten two rebuilding franchises in the Chicago Bulls and the Portland Trail Blazers. They needed a desperate fourth-quarter comeback to pull out the win against the Blazers in their second game of the season. They followed up that close call by getting blown out by the same team just two days later.

New Orleans's schedule is about to get a lot tougher, as they're slated for a doubleheader on the road against the Golden State Warriors before heading back to the Smoothie King Center for a four-game homestand against the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Blazers again, and Cleveland Cavaliers. They might be tied for third in the West right now, but they're looking at a potential plummet down the standings, especially if they can't correct course on their 3-point shooting.

The Pelicans are failing to live up to their "40 3-pointers per game" challenge

In training camp, Head Coach Willie Green issued a specific challenge to his team in hopes of raising their offensive efficiency and ceiling. He had written a big "40" on the whiteboard, marking the number of triples he wanted his players to shoot as a unit every single game. So far, they're well behind the ball on hitting that goal.

Through their first three games, New Orleans is averaging just 32.7 3-point attempts per game, good for 23rd in the NBA. They haven't made any progress from last season when they averaged 32.6 triples a night.

Last year, the Pelicans were one of the "best" deep shooting teams in the league in terms of accuracy, finishing with a 38.3 percent mark which was fourth in the league. Due to their low volume, though, they were just 18th in makes at 12.5 per game.

With a team built around Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray, all of who do their best offensive work inside of the arc, it's imperative that the Pelicans provide spacing for their primary options to score. Unfortunately, these same stars that need open lanes to thrive are failing to do their part to create space for their co-stars.

To be fair, CJ has adapted his game to try to best fit the team, currently averaging 10 3-point attempts per game, continuing his offensive renaissance since arriving in the Big Easy. Dejounte Murray put up only three triples in his first outing with the Pelicans before going down with a fractured left hand, but it's safe to assume that his season average will be higher than three 3-point attempts per game come season's end.

Brandon Ingram started off the year more determined to attack from behind the arc, with seven makes on 14 tries from deep in his first two games. Unfortunately, he reverted to his old self in the Pelicans' loss to the Blazers, going 0-3 from 3-point land while jacking up 10 midrange jumpers.

As for Zion, who was issued a personal challenge by Vice President David Griffin to diversify his offensive repertoire, he's taken just one triple so far. In his defense, he's only played in two games after missing the season opener with an illness and has had to work within a minutes restriction. Still, he needs to be more intentional in how he approaches his offense for the betterment of the team, as do most of the Pelicans.