Today we look at a fascinating Indiana Pacers squad that has one of the most unique situation as play returns. A team that had players have to step up this year has put themself in a decent playoff spot. The status of G Victor Oladipo is a situation that could have a huge impact on the Pacers, especially in the playoffs. Oladipo initially reported he would not be playing in the NBA’s return due to concerns over the quadricep tendon he ruptured a season ago. Oladipo only has played in the past 13 games of the Pacers season before the season’s suspension. The Pacers currently are in a tie for 5th place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadephia 76ers. With only 8 games left the Indiana Pacers will need to look to do a lot of things they have done all year long, just at an accelerated rate. Indiana will look to their major rotation guys to produce more and their deep bench to continue to find a way to ultimately just help this team win as many games as possible.
Indiana’s Season In Review (39-26, 5th In East)
The Starters for Indiana have been good but will really need to step up for this team to not only in their fight to hold the 5th seed in the East but come the first round of the playoffs. The Backcourt of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis has been one of the few places this roster has found a constant this year. Sabonis is a walking double averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds a game and Turner pitches in an additional 13 points and 7 rebounds per game. They are leaders in the backcourt by G Malcolm Brogdon who was averaging 16.2 points 7 assists and 4.6 rebounds a game this season. He has been supported by the play of both TJ Warren who was averaging 20.5 points per contest as well as Jeremy Lamb who contributed 14.4.
The Pacers were a team that was only going to get better as this season went on. Largely due to the absence of Victor Oladipo and that he would only return after the midway point of this season due to his season-ending injury from a year ago. The Pacers competed at a high-level none the less, this year even without him. Winning 26 games, only a game shy of the 27 they won in 2019 when they had Oladipo the year before, the Pacers got production from their deep into their bench. Of the 9 players in this team’s rotation, they combine for 38 missed games in just the first half of the season. The Pacers have had some refreshing players step up in the wake of the injury problems they have had this year. Players such as JaKarr Sampson and Edmond Sumner have been just a few of the guys that have been able to help step up for the Pacer second unit. Sampson has been a pleasant surprise for this team, averging a team-high in field goal percentage and providing strong interior defense in 13 games played. Goga Bitadze, T.J. Leaf, and Naz Mitrou-Long are among some of the others that have also definitely helped this Indiana second unit reach as many wins as they have.
Pacer’s head Coach Nate McMillan has done a great job of playing different rotations all year long for this team to be in a position to win games. He’s found success with whoamever was available but when Oladipo returned it seemed hopeful he would finally be able to find some stability with the roster this year.
Now they are faced with the same type of problems with the teams rotation they have faced all year long with Oladipos status still up in the air. In recent days it has seemed more probable that Oladipo will return in Orlando but the rest of the roster has to improve regardless if they hope to win their first-round playoff series.
Hopefully, even with Victor Oladipo, the guys on this roster that will really need to step up are in the backcourt with Brogdon and Lamb. We’ve seen that TJ Warren can successfully create his own shot and get a bucket this year but come playoffs some of these guys are going to have to be able to do the same. It looked hopeful that Oladip was going to come back to fill that void. He was averaging 15 points per game in his 13 games back from injury. He was feeling better physically and it showed statistically as he scored a season-high 27 in the game right before the season was suspended. Brogdon and Lamb specifically need t step up because they are guard who finally possesses the ability they just have not consistently demonstrated it in terms of really scoring the ball this year. If they can find more consistency scoring from this part of the lineup to help the team along with some solid shooting from Doug Mcdermott, and Just and Aaron Holiday off the bench then the team will have the offensive weapons to compete with a first-round playoff series.
The Pacers have the 4th easiest schedule coming back to play but that doesn’t mean too much. They are still technically tied with the 76ers who have underperformed this year and are getting a healthy Ben Simmons after having time to heal a back injury. Pacers have a chance to be competitive in the playoffs depending where they do finish out in the eastern conference standings they will need a favorable matchup, lots of their roster to step up and a little bit of luck to get beyond the first round of the playoff this year.
Another day closer to the return to the NBA means yet another team on our NBA Bubble Breakdown. The return of the NBA is now exactly two weeks away. As the #14 team on our breakdown the Memphis Grizzlies have control of the valued 8th seed in the Western Conference.
Memphis has had quite the season, with the year being centered around the young and talented Ja Morant and getting him comfortable playing in the NBA and seeing how he and teammate Jaren Jackson mesh as the future core of this Memphis team. Few would have predicted that this team would be in control of the 8th seed in the Western Conference over a more veteran team in the Portland Trailblazers and arguably deeper roster in the New Orleans Pelicans. Both Blazers and Pelicans are 3 and 4 games behind the Grizzlies, respectfully. However, with a more limited number of games to finish off the regular season in the Orlando bubble the Grizzlies have a much better shot just keeping that 8 seed and looking to a first-round playoff match with the LA Lakers.
Memphis has come a long way since the Grit and Grind era. With a phenom in Ja Morant and lots of young talent around them, I’m not sure anyone expected this team to be this good this quickly. It’s no doubt Ja Morant has had an exceptional transition to the NBA. Morant, who in his rookie season is averaging 17.6 points per game and about 7 assists per contest, has led his team with tons of highlight plays this year yet he’s also leading with such solid and efficient play. At the beginning of the 2019-2020 NBA season, it was a bit far-fetched to think that the Grizzlies would hold a playoff spot over the Portland Trailblazers who reached the western conference finals just last year. This is credited to guys like Dillon Brooks who quietly averages a very effective 15.7 points per game and is shooting 37% from beyond the arc. It’s important to also consider the consistency this team has been able to get out of their center Jonas Valanciunas who also in contributing a solid 15 points per game but more importantly has been very effective in ball screen citations with Ja Morant. Another player on this roster who has had an impact this year off the bench for the Grizzlies is Brandon Clarke. Clarke who averages 12 points and about 6 rebounds in his 21 minutes a game off the bench has been a very important piece for them. He can defend at every position for the most part which must make it easy for coach Taylor Jenkins to keep him in games late down the stretch. He’s just a very high motor guy and you can see the level of intensity he brings on defense for this squad as well as another level of offensive tenacity fighting for rebounds and catching lobs.
Looking into the Bubble:
To finish out the regular season Memphis will take on Portland, San Antonio, New Orleans, Utah, and OKC in their first 5 games. They have the 5th most difficult schedule of any NBA restart. It will be fun to see if they can hold on to the 8 seed or if they will end up in a play in with the rest of the teams competing for the 8 seed since the NBA has the new playoff format for the bubble where there will essentially be a play in for the last playoff spot. If it does end up going to a four-team play in for the 8 seed meaning all the teams finished out the season at least all within a game of each other it is the most experienced team, Portland will be the favorite in that to get the 8 seed. With this being said, if Memphis wins at least 6 of their remaining regular-season games they have a great chance of keeping that 8 seed and taking on the Lakers without any type of play in. The combination of teams fighting for the spot from the Grizzlies is going to be determined so it will be all more important for them to finish out strong so that they leave less of their playoff hopes up to chance.
The rest will serve the Grizzlies well. Although very young, when the season was suspended earlier this year the grizzlies were 4-6 in their last 10 games and were just banged up. Lots of nagging injuries were starting to catch up to the young roster after playing one of the toughest schedules in the first half of the 2019-2020 season. The rest will help their young core get back to being able to perform at their highest level. They will be very interesting to watch in the bubble because in having so many games in so many days teams with younger rosters are going to have even more value. Memphis just needs to get back in their rhythm as quickly as possible because their chance at the playoffs this year has largely to do with if they will be able to get back to winning quicker than the other 4 teams in the hunt. They seem poised to do so, and so long as they can be solid defensively and get production out of their top offensive guys like Ja and Jaren and hoping teams like the Pelicans or Trailblazers don’t get hotter than them they would have the same control over the 8 seed when playoffs come around.
The 2019-20 NBA season is (almost) back, but NBA players are already in full swing when it comes to their on-court kicks. With no fans to watch and no NBA arenas hosting games, players’ sneaker choices will have to be seen by the few lucky ones that are in attendance. Before we officially get back to games in a couple of weeks, we wanted to make a quick Top 10 list of the best sneakers in the “Bubble” so far. It’s been quite some time since we’ve done a list regarding the current kicks scene in the NBA, but your usual suspects are back like they never left.
Jordan Brand athletes continue to don new P.E.’s of the Jordan XXXIV’s. Nike athletes are coming heavy with the Nike Kobe 5 Protros, almost as if they had P.E. colorways stashed away for months. New signature sneakers have been debuted in the Bubble as well, with Donovan Mitchell sporting his second signature shoe, the D.O.N. Issue #2 and PUMA athletes debuting the long-awaited RS Dreamer – the signature sneaker of J. Cole. LeBron James has been mixing it up with low and high versions of his 17th signature model, along with a particularly eye-catching colorway. Look below for our list of the Top 10 #BubbleKicks to see which athletes are returning to form in the most heat.
Happy Wednesday! The countdown until NBA basketball is just about two weeks away and fans who have been fiending for live, professional sports will finally get their wish 15 days from now on July 30. And since we’ve only god 15 days left until the season picks back up, today’s team clocked in at 15 is the first playoff-qualifying team to appear on our Bubble Breakdowns.
The Orlando Magic are an anomaly. In what many prophesized to be a year of recession for a team that’s unlikely to do any major climbing in their conference after being ousted in the first round of last year’s playoffs by eventual champion Toronto, these Orlando Magic sure do pack some moxy. Sitting at eighth in the East with the increasing probability of improving their seasonal mark as the (un)official hosts of the Orlando bubble, the Magic have proven time and time again that what Steve Clifford has brewing only spells good fortune for the organization’s growth.
Magic General Manager John Hammond has been around the block for a while, and knows a thing or two about winning. Just in case you’ve been forgetful of his track record, he was a perpetrator in the decision to draft some guy by the long name of Giannis Antetokounmpo a while back in 2013, all while sculpting the balanced, size-abundant Bucks roster awash with three-level scorers.
Current Milwaukee GM Jon Horst (last year’s executive of the year) has Hammond first in line to thank for the foundation of the roster he’d help to finalize, now with those very Bucks perched atop the East with title contention on their mind this year.
And truthfully, we’ve started to grow accustomed to witnessing this trend of rebuilding franchises hiring prospective executive board members with exceptional eyes when it comes to drafting and scouting, because when you’re pretty good at your job, other businesses and organizations catch wind of your success rate.
We’re seeing it now with the Bulls hiring former Nuggets GM Artūras Karnišovas to be their Vice President of Basketball Operations, who made the decision to take Nikola Jokic on the same draft night that Antetokounmpo was selected back in 2013, as this normalization of rebuilding teams making the first step toward playoff contention by hiring credible employees has become lockstep.
But while the Magic haven’t really had that main slugger as a true No. 1 All-Star caliber talent, you could say they’ve been on this trend before it went mainstream.
Assessing this year, Steve Clifford’s Magic were on the cusp of making it back to the playoffs for a second-straight year, up until the March 11 suspension happened as a result of the anxieties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re five games under .500 but are primed to touch the postseason under the effective and not-so-flashy play that garners attention from social media handles.
They’ve had a solid roster to lean on all season, and while they’ve flown under the radar, they’ve really grinded it out on the defensive end and along the way have learned to accentuate each other’s offensive skillset the more they’ve gotten to play this year.
The mantras of grind and work ethic ring through the walls of the AdventHealth Practice Facility, extending from executives and coaches to the players. They’ve worked with what they have, haven’t lamented over shortcoming, and have produced effectively. It’s been a life code for John Hammond to live by, and surely by now its rubbed off on the infrastructure of his organization.
A roster with the likes of All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Terrence Ross, D.J. Augustin, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac (who was lost for the season in January with a knee injury but could possibly be a go for Orlando’s resumed season), James Ennis III and Mo Bamba don’t look all that menacing on paper, but they’ll give you a physical four quarters on any given night.
Not only have they posted a top-10 defensive rating among the other 29 teams in the league, but they’ve pieced it together on the offensive end, with the 5th-highest Assist-to-turnover ratio (1.90) in the entire league and the third-least amount of turnovers (12.1 tov.) per game.
Tied for 4th in the NBA with 5.7 blocks per game… watch the best blocks from the @OrlandoMagic this season so far!
They started the year 3-7 but kept their head down and worked, maintaining control of the eighth seed in the East. For their work, they’ve been rewarded as they have one of the more favorable schedules for the season’s resumption.
Even better: Al-Farouq Aminu is all healed up from his meniscus injury sustained back in January, Evan Fournier is recovered from an injury to his right elbow, and certain parts of this Magic team like Markelle Fultz and Terrence Ross were getting into a good rhythm up until the hiatus, which they hope to expand on as the abridged season tips off in two weeks.
Ross was on a tear in the 10 games prior to the Magic having their season put on hold, averaging 22.2 points per contest. The former Washington Husky posted two 30+ point performances in the span of two weeks, the first against Minnesota at home in which he dropped 33 off 52 percent shooting, and the second being a season-high 35 dropped on Southeastern rival Miami’s heads on the road just six days later.
And as for Markelle Fultz, it seems like the former No. 1 overall pick back in 2017 has found his home and a place to not only grow his game but harvest some self-confidence and comfortability, something that he wasn’t quite able to obtain in such a city so critical of minor infractions like Philadelphia.
Factor in the fact that he has a point guard’s coach like Steve Clifford to navigate him through the process of learning how to be a franchise point guard, while also progressively giving him tidbits on how to be comfortable with the fact that the franchise’s success is largely incumbent upon his shoulders.
Positive reinforcement can go a long way and it looked like the DeMatha product needed it after having his psyche affected by constantly hearing the downtalk from an array of Philly media members who condemned his place in the professional rankings due to his inability to remain healthy and mentally intact due to those peculiar shoulder complications, which devastatingly changed his jumpshot.
Clifford provide it in substantiality, and with the guidance of veteran presence coming from Ross and D.J. Augustin, Fultz has been one of the breakout stars in the NBA. He might even be up for nomination for the Kia Most Improved Player award. This year, he’s shown fans as to why the Sixers couldn’t say no when they were on the clock with the first-overall pick three years ago. An ode to the era of wingspan-endowed guards that are long enough to guard multiple positions and score at will both inside and outside, Fultz is a phenomenal athlete that’s threatening on and off-ball.
He has such a natural fondness for utilizing that length to finish over defenders within two feet of the iron, or pull up from deep or mid-range as a pick-and-roll ball handler. His shooting stroke could use some work as he is still a work in progress, but he’s earned a starting spot as Clifford elected to have Augustin come off the bench in the favor of giving Fultz more reps in a starting spot.
But the Magic’s team MVP has to be Nikola Vucevic, right? I mean, how can he not? As the team leader in points (19.5) and rebounds (11.5), Vucevic has earned All-Star honors during this two-year period that’s seen a spike in productivity by his Magic. And just like any system that becomes spacious enough when there is a big man dynamic enough to not only be a brick wall when setting screens but a two-way threat that pops the three-ball like it’s second nature, he has become a luxury for this team that further plots their course to a respectable playoff run.
Some key wins for this Magic squad include one of their wins against teams .500 or better in their victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on January 15, sealed with two clutch layups by Markelle Fultz in the game’s waning minute. Fultz posted a triple-double in the most impressive win of the season, putting up 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Magic snapped LA’s winning streak at nine games.
Their other key victory came on March 10,a day prior to the league suspending its season. Orlando was down 17 in the FedEx Forum, with yet another loss against a playoff team looming over their heads like an inescapable dark cloud.
And then, Terrence Ross happened.
The Magic two-guard would proceed to score 18 of his 24 points on the night in the fourth quarter, capping off what could be the most gratifying win of the season as the Magic were on a three-game winning streak, with momentum all but squandered as the hiatus halted everything.
Another moment from the season: (Another) infamous Aaron Gordon snub at the 2020 dunk contest. It seems as if the Orlando Magic might be cursed in the nationally-televised festivities of All-Star Saturday.
Or…it’s rigged…
Considering that they haven’t won a dunk contest since 2008 when Dwight Howard put on the Superman cape and “flew” from the free throw line, Aaron Gordon had the chance to avenge his loss in 2016 during that all-time dunk showcase against Zach LaVine, but thanks to another defeat at the hands of longtime Magic rival Dwyane Wade who served as a judge during the contest, Gordon would be given the score of a “9” after dunking over 7-foot Tacko Fall from the Boston Celtics.
Aside from that forgetful misjudgement, Orlando’s season’s had plenty of ups to counter the downs, meaning they should have all the optimism in the world heading into the Bubble.
Orlando’s Roster For Season Resumption: Good times are ahead for “The Magic Kingdom’s team”
Nevermind their 7-26 record against teams .500 or better. This Magic team means business, and they play as hard as you could imagine any team fighting for their collective playoff lives.
Though undersupplied at pure superstars and bucket getters that can get theirs within isolation situations, this Magic team can still compete with ferosity on any given night, with much of their offense coming by way of their defense. Tough for ball handlers to get by, both Evan Fournier and Markelle Fultz man the frontcourt.
Fournier (18.8 ppg., 2.6 rpg., 3.2 apg., 1.1 spg), a former first-rounder out of France back in 2012, has taken over the role of being one of the reliable scoring options for a team that’s not too loaded offensively. He is shooting 45% from the field in his career, and 38% from three.
The Frenchman is a skilled guard who uses his strength and handle within the flow of the offense to effectively create his shot, and with the help of Fultz (12.1 ppg., 3.3 rpg., 5.2 apg.) and his ability to get to the rim both off cuts and off the dribble, it’s difficult for any opposing defense to stop the Magic’s backcourt.
At the Forward spot, it’s impossible to ignore the significance of Aaron Gordon’s continuosly improving game. His athleticism, explosiveness and dexterity to finish with both hands consistently was an already molded skillset the moment he walked in the NBA. Injuries have always plagued the former Arizona Wildcat, though he walks into Orlando with little ailment, ready to go.
Evident in what may have been his best stretches of games in his career, Gordon (14.4 ppg., 7.6 rpg., 3.7 apg.) went on a tirade after his disappointment in the Chicago dunk contest, posting averages of 15.4 points, 6.8 assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the field. To cap off his February, he dropped 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished 4 assists against the Brooklyn Nets on a career-best night for the six-year veteran.
In the other Forward spot lies James Ennis III (6.8 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 1.1 apg.), picked up in the trade deadline in a deal with Philadelphia. The scoring guard/wing hybrid has been a journeyman of sorts, now playing on the eighth NBA team in his career (well ninth, if you count the Perth Wildcats in the Austrailian National Basketball League). Though given a limited opportunity to showcase his expertise, he’s a pure shot creator and helps to stretch the floor with his 41.2 field goal percentage and 30.3 shooting percentage from deep.
He returns to the team after reportedly recovering from the Coronavirus, and looks to get right into team drills the moment he is given the ‘OK’ to do so.
Nikola Vucevic (19.5 ppg., 11 rpg., 3.7 apg., 0.9 bpg.) is the last starter for Steve Clifford’s Magic. As mentioned earlier, he’s not only a strong rebounder and unheralded pro that’s only earned one All Star selection in his career, but one of the more game-breaking offensive juggernauts in the NBA. As great as his footwork and strength are when he is on the block, he too can alter the way defenses play him with his ability to shoot the three-ball, with his fairly-efficient 32.9 three-point percentage.
Orlando has one of the more well-rounded rotations of all 22 teams heading into the bubble to restart the season. Starting off with former starter D.J. Augustin (10.4ppg., 2.2 rpg., 4.6 apg.), who openly accepted his relegation to the bench in favor of letting Markelle Fultz start over him, Augustin is an experienced scorer who, though undersized, has the potency of taking over an entire offense, and especially so since he was the starter to begin the season. While running Clifford’s halfcourt sets, rarely does he ever turn over the ball, usually opting to the be the lead scorer when needed.
Alongside him is the established perimeter scorer Terrence Ross (14.8 ppg., 3.2 rpg., 1.2 apg.). He is an explosive leaper and slasher with a scorer’s mentality who also assists the Magic with his high energy on the defensive end, and he is just as capable of handling his business when it comes to scoring in 5-out sets.
Additionally, in the second unit lies talented wing Wesley Iwundu (5.3 ppg., 2.5 rpg., 1apg.) who is slightly consistent from deep with his hard-to-contest seven foot frame, but can certainly improve in his role as a 3-and-D wing, shooting at 31.3 percent. Forward/center hybird Gary Clark is also within the second shift of players, as he is a tenacious defender that can affect shots with his 6’6 frame. He is another 3-and-D piece who can draw out bigs to the perimeter as he shoots a little over 37 percent from three-land.
Lastly, first-rounder out of Texas and 7-footer Mo Bamba (5.5ppg., 5 rpg., 0.7 apg.) is a fan favorite who is known for being tree-like when guarding the rim, averaging 1.4 blocks per contest. In his second season, Bamba has also added a proficient three ball to his library, shooting a fiery 35.6 percent.
Other rotational pieces in Cliffords lineup include Michael Carter-Williams (7.2ppg., 3.3rpg., 2.4 apg) a talented point guard who, just like Fultz, is an advanced slasher with the amenity of legth and wingspan benefitting while standing at 6’6, center Khem Birch (3.8 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 0.8 apg.) who is a gifted shot blocker that is a hard-working glass cleaner when boxing out opposing bigs on the boards, and the returning Al-Farouq Aminu (4.3 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 1.2 apg.), who is an exceptional defender that uses his wingspan to his advantage while also finishing authoritatively at the rim as a dynamic roll man.
This roster can win some games during their (literal) eight-game homestand, and with the schedule they have, they’ll have the best chance of keeping their eighth seed in the East.
Looking at Orlando’s place in the East, and their official schedule heading into the bubble as the season restarts on July 30, it looks to be in their favor in terms of overall difficulty. Take a look.
Sure, there are some games here that are easier than others, but keep in mind that even though Orlando can lose their seeding, it’ll be entirely reliant on the others above and below them (Brooklyn, Washington) to catch up to them as well.
To start off, they’ll do battle with a team that is seeded higher than them in the seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets, who yesterday may have lost another player in Michael Beasley and continue to be undermanned going into Orlando. After that game, they’ll play a Kings team that isn’t going to be without any of their core pieces, making up what should be an even and competitive matchup. A duel with the Pacers is up next, and the Magic’s gameplan may alter depending on the decision of Victor Oladipo and whether he wants to play or not. To finish off the first half of the schedule, they’ll have to play the Toronto Raptors, the team they were able to steal a win from in the first round of last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs.
To kickoff the second half, they’ll have two difficult games against Boston and Philadelphia. Orlando has yet to beat Boston this year, but Markelle Fultz was able to exact revenge on the team that let him go earlier in the season. They’ll finish the season going against the Nets one more time, and conclude their regular season with one final home game against Zion Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans.
Within the two years that John Hammond has been an executive for the Magic (2018 to 2020), he’s shown that this franchise is a work in progress franchise.
But if their potential visit to the postseason for consecutive seasons for the first time since the Dwight Howard era is an indication of anything, this “process” is nearing its completion, sooner rather than later.
We’re making quick strides on getting through this countdown, and since we’re officially at 16 days until the official NBA restart, let’s not make haste and talk about the next team on this list: the resilient New Orleans Pelicans.
How better could the scenario of Orlando get for a young, adaptive Pels team? They’re healthy down the board, perhaps have the easiest schedule among non-playoff qualifying teams, and have the phenom Zion Williamson to lead the charge. What could go wrong?
New Orleans’ Season In Review (28-36, 10th In West)
A season that never really got out of the blocks with all issues pertaining to injury woes now turns into a plausible campaign that can boost this Pelicans team into playoff positioning with an extremely favorable schedule.
Call it what you will: a conspiracy of the NBA playing the favoritism game prioritizing Williamson’s skills and the Pelicans’ potential to ease them into the playoffs. Or how about a plan laid by current General Manager David Griffin going as scheduled in the first year of the post-Anthony Davis era.
Nawlins’ team is finally finding its way in an uber-competitive Western Conference and just before the hiatus, they had racked up eight wins in a span of 13 games, looking more and more fearsome the more they play with one another. Now, with an opportunity to capitalize on that momentum built up during the regular season, this Alvin Gentry coached team overflowing with potential now has the golden opportunity to snatch the eighth seed from the Memphis Grizzlies.
And it wasn’t just the delay of Williamson’s debut that slowed the team’s start for this season, but missed time from the likes of Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram, JJ Redick, and Lonzo Ball garnered some difficulty in getting some crucial wins for a team that’s needed them down the final stretches of the season. The starting lineup of Ball-Holiday-Hart-Ingram-Favors looked like how any transitional rebounding team would look: talent-deficient, defensively inefficient, and still learning how to play with one another with only a quarter of a season under their belt.
And yet, this new Pels team, pieced together as a result of the eye-opening trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and the Lakers’ first-round pick, was able to squeeze out a total of 17 wins. That number would drastically improve after the debut of rookie sensation Zion Williamson, who in his debut against the San Antonio Spurs on January 22 scored 21 points off the bench in a minutes restriction, and scored 17 straight points in one of the most electric starts to a professional career that you will ever see.
And then the Zion onslaught on the entire NBA began. In just the duration of a few weeks and 19 games, this lowly Pelicans team, predetermined to meet another fate of another lottery pick year, has made even the highest of teams on the league’s totem pole shake in their shoes. They’re on the Grizzlies’ heels, only 3 1/2 games behind them and with the way Williamson has been playing, you’d like to think it’s only a matter of time until the Pelicans completely catch up to the rest of the qualifying eight in the Western playoff chart.
Averaging a monstrous 25.9 points off 61 percent shooting, the 19-turned-20-year-old has proven himself to be an intimidating finisher at the rim with poised body control and an elite, soft touch within 3 feet. The lefty’s game is a blend of the modernization of the NBA big and the past eras of forwards in the league: A swift and powerful slasher who focuses not only on in-paint footwork but utilizes his strength of outside shooting every now and then to stretch the floor.
Conversely, this Pels team has rallied around their rookie sensation, as the numbers from their integral parts have vastly improved. There was a time not too long ago when we all thought Lonzo Ball to have the league’s most horrendous jumper, inefficient as it was aesthetically unpleasant. In the period of New Orleans’ 19 games with Williamson on the floor, Zo upped his assist numbers with his new Pick and Roll partner, and got hot in the past 13 games, shooting 46.2 percent from deep with 14.2 points per game to add to that impressive statistic.
But arguably the most impressive player on this Pels team has to be their unsung hero and lone All-Star, Brandon Ingram. He may not garner much attention from the national media, since it looks like Zion is hogging that up, but the former Laker that’s found new pastures in less-pressurized environment like New Orleans has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with out on the wing. In what will probably be a Kia Most Improved Player award year that will launch Ingram into the next level of superstardom, the Duke standout has played the best ball of his career, averaging 24.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Additionally, Ingram’s confidence is glowing, evident in his willingness to want to isolate more and get buckets on his own. Shooting 38.7 percent on three balls on for a combined field goal percentage of 46.7 percent has made Ingram the true No. 1 scoring option for New Orleans. Inconsistency was the biggest curse against the former No. 2 overall pick in 2016, but he’s adjusted in a new atmosphere where he can allow his game to grow gradually without the pressure of being the do-it-all wing scorer in a large market like LA.
Some key wins in the season for this young, impressionable team weren’t just capped off by the thrilling opening to an NBA career for Zion on January 22. The Pels beat down the Memphis Grizzlies 139-111 in a statement win that tightened the Rookie of the Year race between former AAU teammates Williamson and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, while also letting the Grizzlies know the Pelicans were not to be toyed with.
Some other wins that the Pelicans had this year:
Brandon Ingram scoring a career-high 49 points in a New Orleans win over Utah that snapped a 10-game win streak by the Jazz, in what was a retribution over Ingram missing a game-winning layup as a result of a missed call when Jazz center Rudy Gobert fouled him at the buzzer of their last matchup.
Or the win against the Denver Nuggets on Christmas where, before they even had Zion suit up in uniform as the rookie was healing up from a meniscus tear, the 8-23 Pelicans managed to defeat the #2 seeded Denver Nuggets 112-100, which served as a motivator for a young Pelicans team still without their best player.
There have been a large sum of memorable moments for a Pelicans team that has accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Throughout the year, many speculated that they were going to lie down and continue to restock for the future, but now that they’re only five games from making it to .500, those speculations are out of the window as playoff visit aspirations now make their way through the doorstep.
New Orleans’ Roster For Season Resumption: The scheme and schedule is set for this pelicans team to perform, and execute they must.
To put it bluntly…It will be the Pelicans’ own doing that screws up their chances of making the playoffs with such a favorable outlook on their trip to Orlando. They have all the pieces. They have the perfect, spaceous scheme set in stone. And they have arguably the most prolific rookie to grace a floor since LeBron in 2003. It will be really difficult to mess this up, especially when, as a team, don’t have to worry about major injury to not a single member of their players.
The decision of Alvin Gentry’s status is up in the air, in relation to the health risk of traveling to the Orlando bubble in the wake of the rising cases of COVID-19 in Florida, but if all is well for the Pelicans head coach, expect a full-strength organization to potentially blow the roof off of the Orlando bubble on their way to qualifying for the eighth seed.
In the starting lineup, expect to see the starting five of Lonzo Ball, Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram and Derrick Favors to be rolled out for a majority of their games during the restart. As the starting guard, Lonzo Ball (12.4 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 7 apg., 1.4 spg.) has been selected as the main guy to run Gentry’s offense as a pass-first perimeter scorer and occasional slasher. In such a spaced-out floor awash with wings who can all create off the dribble, he’ll be assisted by his backcourt companion Jrue Holiday (19.6 ppg., 4.9 rpg., 6.9 apg., 1.7 spg.), who you could make the case as their best on-ball defender.
Though he is usually assigned plays ran for him at the two position, he can occasionally direct the offense at the point as well. His natural shot-creating ability has been a skill coveted by the Pelicans during the Anthony Davis days, and he’s seamlessly meshed into this new-look Pels team with his assets coming into the benefit of this young team with his play and veteran leadership.
Alongside Zo and Jrue will be team MVP Brandon Ingram (24.2 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 4.3 apg.) who is easily the purest shot creator on the team. Once things break down, or whenever the Pelicans go 5-out, Gentry will likely give the stretch forward his space to take defenders one-on-one to either make his own shot from deep, within the mid-range or at the rim, where his attempts are likely to be finished at with his 6’7 frame.
Williamson is another threat to set screens and roll, slash, collapse the defense and find shooters around the arc. When the Pels’ halfcourt defense gets stops and steals, there’s very little in this world that can stop the unstoppable force that is a churning Williamson when he gets within five feet of the paint. Which is frightening, of course.
And lastly in the starting lineup lies Derrick Favors, the former big for the Utah Jazz who turned out to be an efficient piece for New Orleans this season. Averaging a little over nine points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and one block per game, he’s slid into the center position with efficacy, utilizing the role as an active roll man, defensive anchor, energetic rebounder and break starter.
The Pelicans’ second and third units will play a huge role in determining how many wins they will get in Orlando. Starting off with backup shooting guard and top-tier marksman JJ Redick (14.9 ppg., 2.6 rpg., 2 apg., 45.2 3PT%), hasn’t missed the playoffs once in his caree and his role focuses on being the integral catch-and-shoot perimeter sniper we know him to be.
Accompanying him in the backcourt will be Josh Hart (10.2 ppg., 6.5 rpg., 1.6 apg.), another Laker export who can both run the 1 and 2 as a primary ball handler, corner shooter and pick and roll defender. That same backcourt can go three deep, with guards Frank Jackson (5.6 ppg., 1.4 rpg., 0.8 apg.) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (5.1 ppg., 0.2 rpg., 2 apg.) running the same responsibilites.
For the reserves in the frontcourt, Italian shooter Niccolo Melli (6.8 ppg., 3 rpg., 1.3 apg.) will be at the power forward spot to be a perimeter lockdown man and scorer from deep. Behind him will be Kenrich Williams (3.8 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 1.5 apg.), who may not be as an efficient scorer from deep but bolsters their rim protection efforts with his 0.6 blocks per game off the bench. It’s clear that Alvin Gentry formulated this roster to be filled to the brim with shooters, as his other forward in E’Twuan Moore (8.6 ppg., 2.4 rpg., 1.4 apg.) is known for his spot-up shooting abilities.
That second unit will also contain rookie center Jaxson Hayes (7.5 ppg., 4 rpg., 0.9 apg.) out of Texas, New Orleans’ second first-round pick who has been the source of energy off the bench as a lanky defender who can guard three to four positions, lengthy shot blocker and roll man.
Likely to split minutes with him will be another Duke standout on this Pelicans team. Former first-round pick Jahlil Okafor (7.6 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 1.3 apg.), who is experiencing a second wind for his career, has proven himself capable of defending guards on the perimeter as well as useful under the basket as a low-post scorer.
Again, the roster is all here, and the schematics are all set for this Pelicans team to succeed with an easy schedule. Now, they just have to get the job done in this abridged season.
The conspiracy theorists are all out and about talking about how easy the Pelicans have it during this eight-game schedule. And, though a lot of prognosticators make gripping points, the games still have to be won by the Pelicans at the end of the day. But as favorable as the Pelicans’ schedule is, they might be right.
Barring their battle against the Clippers, this schedule can all but certainly land the Pelicans in the postseason. Starting out with a game against the Utah Jazz and their shaky defensive gameplan, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram look to do damage against a team that, if they do qualify for the eighth seed, could likely see them at some point in the playoffs.
A battle with Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers is next, which in reality could be a toss-up considering how well the two teams match-up with one another. After that game will be the final matchup between the Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies takes place, as Ja Morant and Zion Williamson have the bragging rights of ending the Rookie of the Year award debate on the line. They’ll finish their first-half of the season with a game against another team gunning for the eighth seed in the Sacramento Kings.
The final half of their season starts against an undermanned Washington Wizards team that is still gritty enough to force a close game against them and soon after that, Zion gets his final rematch of the year against those San Antonio Spurs he debuted against. They get one more shot at the Kings after that before ending their seeding schedule against the host Orlando Magic.
The NBA set it up for Zion’s Pelicans to wreak havoc on the war path toward the eighth seed, but like the other 21 teams in the bubble, there are no wins on paper. It’s more than doable for this team coached by Alvin Gentry, but execution and sticking to to the task at hand will ultimately be the answer to whether or not the Pelicans get back to the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Sunday evening Laker Guard Rajon Rondo suffered a broken right thumb. Rondo is set to have surgery sometime later this week but is expected to be back to return to basketball activities in six to eight weeks.
Rondo has had a history of hand injuries in the past missing time for the Lakeshow back during the 2018-19 season. Rondo underwent separate surgeries to repair a fractured third metacarpal in his right hand and a torn ligament in his right ring finger.
The absence of Rajon Rondo will have an interesting impact on the Lakers. Rondo’s absence means new additions and other reserves will inevitably get more minutes. Rondo is averaging 7 points per game and 5 assists while playing an average of 20 mins per game this season for the Lakers.
The Lakers will now be looking more to the reserves of Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, J.R Smith, and Dion Waiters to bring production to the Laker second unit. All Laker guards are capable of producing on the offensive end but in a different way from what Rondo brings as a playmaker and leader. Offensively the Lakers reserves are still capable of keeping this team at the top of the western conference heading into the playoffs. With new additions such as Dion Waiters and J.R Smith who do not have much experience playing with the current roster, it might benefit them to have more time to get comfortable in the Lakers offense.
The Lakers who are already in Orlando without their best on-ball perimeter defender in Avery Bradley now will not have Rajon Rondo for six to eight weeks. The Lakers may struggle defensively without Rajon Rondo not only will they be missing another solid on-ball defender but he is also a veteran who they signed to be around come playoff time to help the team down the stretch. Based on the timeline, Rondo should be able to return to action sometime during the playoffs, assuming the Lakers continue to advance.
