The All-Star break is finally here, but two Pels will have to wait a little longer for that break to officially start. As rookies, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen will both be competing in Friday’s Rising Stars game.
Often, we see the most special young players return from the break and take the next step in their development. And while Fears has had a solid rookie season, it would mean a lot for the Pelicans' future if he took a step over the team's final 26 games.
This season, Fears has been averaging 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game while shooting just 42.9 percent from the field and connecting on only 32.4 percent of his triples. But over the team's final five games heading into All-Star weekend, he’s trending in the right direction when it comes to his outside shooting and overall offensive production.
That suggests the second-half breakout I hinted at could be on the way.
Signs of a second-half leap are already there
In the Pelicans' 120-94 win over the Sacramento Kings Monday night, he scored 20 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists to go along with a pair of steals and a pair of blocks. The other big thing in this game was his efficiency as Fears easily got to the basket, shooting 8/14 from the field and going 2/4 from deep.
He followed that game up with a double-double and a near triple-double against the Miami Heat on Wednesday. While his efficiency wasn’t great as Fears shot 33 percent from the field on 18 shots, he found other ways to impact the game with a career-high 10 rebounds, eight assists, and 13 points.
Pair those two performances with a 38.9 percent three-point mark over his last five games, and it starts to look like Fears is poised for a breakout.
Trae Young struggled early in his rookie season before flipping a switch after the All-Star break and nearly stealing Rookie of the Year.
Young averaged just under 17 points per game, but was shooting an abysmal 40.6 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from three in the first half of his rookie season. But then, after the All-Star break, things were different. We saw Young take a massive leap. In his final 23 games, he was putting up nearly 25 points per game, and his shooting splits leaped up to 44.2 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from deep.
Not to say Fears is going to come into the second half and make a run at Kon Knueppel or Cooper Flagg for Rookie of the Year the way Young did in 2019. However, his production over the team's final five games suggests a leap is coming, and for a Pelicans team with no first-round pick in this upcoming draft, seeing Fears take a leap now would ease the pain of not controlling their own draft future.