Brandon Ingram Talks Pelicans, His Offensive Struggles, "I Don't Think I'm Myself Completely."

New Orleans' anemic offensive performance this postseason is a microcosm of Brandon Ingram's struggles since returning from injury.

Apr 21, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) reacts / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans, LA - The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in a 0-3 hole in their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their best player playing, Brandon Ingram, finds himself out of rhythm and running out of chances to get the Pelicans back into this series. Ingram is averaging just 16 points on 43% shooting from the field in the first three games. Since returning from a hyperextended knee injury, Ingram has played in six games, but only reached the 20-point plateau once.

With Zion Williamson sidelined with a hamstring injury, New Orleans needed Ingram to step up offensively to keep pace with the high-octane Thunder offense. During the regular season, Ingram played nine games without Williamson and averaged 22 points on 48% shooting. New Orleans went 5-4 in those games. During these playoffs, the Pelicans have yet to crack 100 points, and on Sunday scored their fewest points (85) in a playoff game since 2011.

"I feel like I've had spurts where I feel good, but not completely," Ingram told reporters after their Game 3 loss. "I'm not happy with none of my performances from the playoffs. I don't think I'm myself completely. I'll continue to push forward." Part of pushing forward needs to be a more aggressive approach from Ingram, who is averaging just 13 field goal attempts in this series.

Apr 24, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) drives / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City flipped a one-point lead to 15 after going on a 14-0 run midway through the second quarter on Saturday. Ingram took only two shots in the period, despite playing nearly ten minutes. Ditto in Game 2 when Ingram had more turnovers (3) than shot attempts (2) in a first half that saw the Thunder leading by double-digits at the break. Oklahoma City's guard Lu Dort's physicality has bothered Ingram and the Thunder have perfectly matched Dort's minutes to Ingram's. 

This series is a far cry from B.I.'s first playoff appearance two seasons ago. Those circumstances were eerily similar, with the Pelicans as an eighth seed and playing without Zion Williamson because of injury. Ingram averaged 27 points on 46% shooting against the top-seed Phoenix Suns in a highly competitive six-game series. Now, the Pelicans' entire season is on the brink of being swept in four games on Monday night.

All the normal cliches of taking things one game at a time were said in the postgame presser Sunday evening. Ingram told reporters that the team hasn't lost confidence and in fact as players "we all look at our highlights and what we do well and try to do that the next game." The next game may be all New Orleans has left in their season unless Ingram and Co. can jumpstart their offense and extend this season to a Game 5.