New Orleans Pelicans: keys behind an unlikely playoff run / News - Basketnews.com

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The NBA's play-in trick proves to be a wise move. It creates alternative stories and adds more spice to the already tasteful flavor of the post-season saga. It gives motivation to the franchises who did not find their groove in the first part of the season, showing a reason not to tank and finding ways to keep winning. New Orleans Pelicans are just one of them.

Starting 1-12 in the first month, things obviously didn't start exactly in the way that the first-year NBA head coach Willie Green would prefer. Despite the partial recovery with 7-5 in December, their playoff prospects did not seem to be so bright.

But the executive vice president of basketball operations, David Griffin, and head coach Willie Green found a way up.

A major revamp in the roster during the February trade where CJ McCollum, Tony Snell, and Larry Nance Jr. came in for Nickeil-Alexander-Walker, Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, and Didi Louzada turned out to be very productive in the short-term.

After the All-Star break, the Pelicans not only went 13-10 and managed to finish the regular season in 9th place but also cut into the paths of Spurs and LA Clippers during the play-in games, somewhat unexpectedly.

Devonte Graham's game-winner from his own court was a jaw-dropping moment against the OKC. But now, despite falling behind 2-3, they are incredibly two wins away from eliminating arguably the biggest favorites of making it into the NBA Finals.

That is an astonishing achievement on an entirely different level.

It is easy to wrap it up by making the obvious statement about this team being overachievers. They were below 45% winning percentage and not particularly successful neither in defense or offense, as they were not in the TOP 10 efficiency rankings.

Potential "franchise saver" of the post-Anthony Davis era, Zion Williamson, who was drafted with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, did not get to play a single minute. Their other biggest weapon, Brandon Ingram, missed 27 games due to an injury.

During the regular season, they were the 3rd worst in the 3-point shooting percentage in the league after Oklahoma City, Detroit Pistons, and not in the Top 20 when it comes to effective field goal percentage. This team looked like a statistical anomaly.

Given all these structural and personal-wise liabilities, it is almost a mystery how the Pelicans survived so far and came to the brink of the possibility of wreaking havoc in the first round of the NBA playoffs? Here are some hints.

The Leadership

While Zion Williamson remained to be conspicuously missing action due to an injury he picked up in the pre-season stage, the Pelicans were not deprived of leadership.

This was Willie Greene's first season at the helm of an NBA team as a head coach, but it didn't mean that he was lacking merits or innovative and effective ideas.

He came up with a simple but bold tweak known as the "tall ball" move. In the age of the small ball, they opted to play with two bigs in the frontcourt who played pre-dominantly center up until this season, Jaxon Hayes and Jonas Valanciunas.

This move worked very well for all sides; while Jaxon Hayes helped the defense to be switch-eligible with his ability to contain attacks from smaller positions, Jonas Valanciunas found himself a redesigned area of operation in the offense, very suitable for these post-up plays.

In the end, Hayes found himself back in the rotation with revamped offensive production, Valanciunas improved his scoring figures and kept rebounding. Meanwhile, Green had a very athletic mixture by placing Herb Jones, Hayes, and Brandon Ingram all together on the court, covering different angles on the perimeter.

The team also introduced their star power as well. Brandon Ingram is playing his first-ever playoff series but managed to lift his game when the Pelicans needed it the most.

His injury struggles were a bit concerning late in the season, but starting with the play-in games, he found his groove and is arguably enjoying the best stint of his career.

Ingram's 30-point effort combined with veteran Larry Nance's 14 points-16 rebounds support, the Pelicans managed to erase 13 points deficit in the last quarter against the Clippers to clinch the playoff berth.

Ingram's heroics' did not stand there as he is currently averaging 30.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game throughout the four games against the Suns. He scored 30+ in all but the first game, shooting 50% from 3 FG.

But he was not alone doing that. Mid-season addition CJ McCollum gave a helping hand to this young team with this vast experience, and together with Ingram, they became the most productive duo with 53.8 points per game in the playoffs so far.

The Rebounding

What are the best way of trimming the offensive and the defensive inferiority between you and the opponents in a league like the NBA? Clearing and crashing the boards.

In other words, there is no other way to limit your opponents with the minimum amount of second-chance points and create the greatest number of putbacks to give yourself an opening.

Pelicans sought to use exactly the same prescription.

Regarding the offensive rebounding, the Pelicans became one of the nightmare teams for their opponents. Not only were they 3rd best team with a 31.3% offensive rebounding share in the regular season, but they were also lethally productive.

For every 100 shots they missed, they made 26.8 points as putbacks, which was the 2nd best output after Memphis during the regular season.

When it comes to the defensive rebounding, New Orleans Pelicans were meticulous in keeping things clean around their rim.

Their success in defensive rebounding just came after Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks’ efficiency rates. By the backing of this key feature, they were very strict about giving away second-chance points to their opponents (12.6 points per game, League's 7th best).

These figures all indicate that Willie Green built a good unit of rebounding, but there is one name that spearheads this sort of dominance on the boards: Jonas Valancuinas.

Coming off his career-best figures at Memphis in the previous season, the 2.11 m big carried the momentum to NOLA by becoming the top rebounder of the regular season with 36.2% defensive and 21.7% offensive rebounding percentages.

Despite the departure of his biggest helper in terms of rebounding, Josh Hart, via trade, the Pelicans kept grabbing the failed shots on a consistent basis. Remaining fresh by Willie Hernangomez's remarkable support from the bench, Valanciunas' dominance in the paint led him to 3rd most double-doubles in the league.

Apart from the rebounds, Valanciunas' extended role in the offense was worth noting. After scoring 17.7 points per game in the regular season (career-high), he had his career playoff best 26 points & 15 rebounds performance to give another lifeline to the Pelicans against Phoenix to tie the series 2-2.

His clutch plays and being a reliable option in the post during the final stretches were also very instrumental for the Pelicans in finishing the close games.

Offensive rebounds and putbacks kept their importance for the Pelicans as they are currently the team that made the most of second chances in the playoffs. 31.9 points per missed shot is a big bonus.

Behind that figure, Valanciunas played a colossal part. He is currently the best offensive rebounder taking 19.4% of all missed shots by Pelicans, and he brought 20 valuable putback points for his team so far.

The Defense

Could the Pelicans be labeled as a good defensive team? Hardly. Yes, they had some impressive defensive stretches from time to time, but overall, that beyond-the-par level was not maintained on a stable basis through the entire regular season.

Their biggest problem appears to be defending the shots close to their rim and the corner threes. This was an issue that haunted them almost the entire season as they are the second and third-worst team with field goal % allowed regarding the shots taken from less than 6 feet.

Also, only Sacramento, Portland, Indiana, Chicago, and Atlanta had worse defensive rates of accuracy from corner 3s.

They were not the absolute monsters when the opponents broke into the short-mid or the rim zone. The corners were their Achilles heels.

This was well-exemplified against the series against the Suns. So far, the Pelicans allowed 53.6% effective field goals to their opponent, which is the 6th worst rate of all playoff stages. Rim shots? Phoenix is having a picnic in the paint with a 74% field goal.

One specific example is DeAndre Ayton, who scored 17.2 points and 1.4 assists through the regular season (with 1.17 possessions per point).

The Suns center had a very productive series in the offense with 20.2 points and 2.2 assists (1.27 PPP), let alone his playoff best 28 points & 17 rebounds effort to grab the Game 3 for his team.

Until the 5th game, Phoenix Suns could not capitalize on the weakness of the corners, but then, Mikal Bridges found a goldmine by infiltrating through this particular offensive zone and scored 31 points, the second-highest points mark in this career.

But Willie Green's solution to this drawback throughout the season was equally interesting: The Pelicans gave their best, containing the penetrations into their perimeter while they are ferociously looking for steals and turning their opponent to turnovers. In other words, they sought to finish the threat in defense, even before it started.

In that respect, two names come to the fore: Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado.

Herb Jones, the rookie from Alabama Crimson Tide, was selected in the 2nd round with a 35th pick but quickly became the main reason why the Pelicans managed to keep their perimeter as intact as possible.

Many people now think that he deserves a place in the All-Defensive Team of the Regular Season.

Not only he had the second-best rookie impact within the D-Lebron index after Evan Mobley, but also his estimated wins added is the top figure among all NBA rookies with 6.47.

On the other hand, one of the lead pickpockets of the league, Jose Alvarado, also needs a special mention but his unexpected yet, very useful contributions. After not being selected in last summer's draft, he made his way into the roster by finding a two-way contract but hit the second place for the team's most steals per game with 1.2.

Alvarado's offensive support from the bench might seem minuscule, but he plays with a big heart as his pace, flamboyance, and unpredictability bring another dimension. His big threes in the play-in series were remarkable.

Phoenix finished the regular season as the 3rd best offensive team, and the prospects for the Pelicans' defense to find any remedy against this purple-orange machine did not look very strong.

Yes, Devin Booker’s injury in the Game 2 had a big negative impact on their game. Still, nevertheless, Monty Williams built a stable offensive unit that is not heavily based on star players but certain principles, good ball movement, and efficient floor spacing.

Despite that, New Orleans managed to disrupt that offensive acumen of their opponent, keeping them constantly in check to hinder demoralizing blowout losses and even restricted them to below 1.0 Points per Possession in Game 4.

The one-on-one defense of Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado on the Phoenix primary ball handler Chris Paul is already on the list of playoff saga of this season. CP3 was discernibly frustrated by the heavy pressure and struggled to maintain control.

When Jones was covering the perimeter, Phoenix shot only 6/27 from the 3-point zone.

The Pelicans lineup of McCollum-Ingram-Jones-Hayes-Valanciunas was the second-best combination when it comes to limiting opponents' effective field goal rate so far (52.1%, comes right after Harden-Maxey-Green-Harris-Embiid of Philadelphia).

When Alvarado was on the court, the Suns made an estimated +3.4% turnover more, shot 7% less from short-mid range, hit 9% less from the field, and scored 6.2 points less per 100 possession. That is the Alvarado effect.

A Season to Remember

As a final note, perhaps I need to make a clear statement; this write-up did not discuss whether the Pelicans might win the series against Phoenix being 2-3 behind and carry their Cinderella Story to another level.

Is this aim beyond their reach? No one can be so sure anymore.

But despite all the heroics and unexpected resilience, the odds are still mostly against them, which is more than ok. They are already way over their season goals.

In the article, I sought to draw attention to some key factors that led the New Orleans Pelicans to this unlikely journal under the direction of Willie Green as a first-year NBA head coach.

They have a relatively young core with rookies like Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy, and Herbert Jones. Alongside Kira Lewis, who also closed the season early with the ACL injury he picked up back in December. Also, there is Naji Marshall and Jaxson Hayes as 2nd year and 3rd-year players.

Reminding ourselves that Brandon Ingram, as well as Zion Williamson, are still under 25 years old. So, this franchise might have a future in the upcoming seasons.

Will they manage to carry the momentum that they found this season? Only time will tell. But they became one of the feel-good stories about this season, there is no doubt about that.

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