What We Learned About the Pelicans From Their Preseason Play

The New Orleans Pelicans finished the preseason 3-1 and will begin the regular season on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers. While many people don’t put much stock in the preseason, the four games were pivotal for new head coach Jamahl Mosley to implement his game plan across different lineup groups.

The preseason slate offered both positives and negatives, so here are a few things we learned from the Pelicans' preseason.

Three-point shooting woes

A major negative from last season seems to continue this year: woeful outside shooting. Last season, the Pelicans ranked 24th in the league, shooting just 34.7% from beyond the arc. New Orleans did little to improve its shooting this summer, and the first four preseason games point to more struggles from deep this year.

In the four preseason games, the Pelicans shot 33.1% from distance, signaling that consistent shooting will again be their Achilles heel. To make matters worse, the team didn’t pursue a stretch big this summer either, so Zion Williamson and Yves Missi's minutes together were disastrous for spacing and shooting. Coach Mosley will need to be strategic around minutes involving Williamson, Missi, and Derik Queen.

That could mean more minutes for former second-round pick Karlo Matkovic, who shot 42% from deep last season and showed some positive flashes shooting this preseason. Aside from Trey Murphy III, no other Pelicans player strikes fear into opponents shooting from the outside.

Opposing teams will no doubt pack the paint to keep Williamson and Queen from operating comfortably inside. The only way to soften those defenses is to shoot consistently from the outside. Time will tell, but the early results aren’t that positive.

Jeremiah Fears is ready to take the next step

One of the preseason's overwhelming positives was second-year guard Jeremiah Fears' stellar play. The former Oklahoma standout clearly spent the offseason adding muscle and working on his game. Fears averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds on 50% shooting over four games. He also tied for the team lead in steals, continuing his knack for disrupting the opponent's offense. With Dejounte Murray’s toe injury, Fears started the final two preseason games for New Orleans and made a strong case for a starting role come Wednesday night.

After playing in all 82 games last season and earning All-NBA Second Team honors, Fears is poised for a breakout season. Murray’s return is uncertain, but Fears has made a strong case early on for starting at guard this year.

One of his biggest flaws is his outside shooting, but the preseason could be an early indicator that he will improve this year. Fears shot 51% from beyond the arc and looked comfortable shooting spot-up and off the dribble. If he unlocks this aspect of his game more consistently, the sky is the limit for what he and the Pelicans could become offensively.

Ball pressure

With the Pelicans failing to address their need for an interior defensive anchor this offseason, Mosley is clearly emphasizing ball pressure at the point of attack. Last season, the Pelicans ranked top-10 in steals, and early indications suggest they will wreak havoc in this category again this year.

New Orleans finished second in the preseason with 13.3 steals per game, which fueled a couple of their comeback victories. For a team that struggled so mightily defending the paint last season, ball pressure is one of their few hopes for fielding a respectable defense this year.

Buy-in not only from the perimeter, but from paint guys like Williamson and Queen, could go a long way toward fixing a defense that’s been below average to bad the last couple of seasons.

Defense is Mosley’s calling card, and while he can only work with the personnel he has, a better defensive effort all-around is necessary for the Pelicans to have any success this season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google