NBA Stats Notebook: Brandon Ingram's steadying presence on Pelicans

Late January was probably the first time I looked at thejam-packed Western Conference standings and felt extra excited towatch how it would ultimately shake out. We're now about to reachApril, and with 10 days left in the regular season, we're no closerto understanding the playoff picture.

This dogfight in the West has beeninsane. Thefourth-place Phoenix Suns and 12th-place Utah Jazz are separated byjust 4.5 games, with most teams only having five or six contestsleft on the schedule.

No team in this glob has been able to separate themselves. Anymomentum generated in the final weeks of the season could becrucial for playoff positioning — which makes the New OrleansPelicans' quiet resurgence significant.

New Orleans is eighth in the West at 38-38, but was rolling on afive-game winning streak before fumbling away a great start toTuesday's game against the Golden State Warriors. The Pelicans havethe best defensive rating (107.0) in the league across the last 10games.

This team was atop the West standings on Dec. 12 and 11 gamesover .500 on Dec. 30. Then, injuries and simply poor play sent themtumbling; the Pelicans went 10-25 from New Year's Eve up until thecurrent recovery.

Now, at the most critical point of the year, the Pelicans seemto be back on track.

Brandon Ingram missed all of December and most of January with atoe injury and it understandably took the star some time to regainform. But he's been electric since the All-Star break, averaging26.7 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting49.3% from the field and 40% on threes. Zoom into the last sixgames and it gets even more explosive: 29.2 points, 8.3 assists (!)and 5.8 rebounds on a 51.6% shooting clip (47.4% fromthree).

Ingram's 40.4% overall efficiency from distance is a career-higheven as he continues to glide his way inside. The 25-year-old isone of the premier mid-range maestros in the league, and he's stillimproving his presence closer to the basket. According to PBPstats, Ingram is driving the ball once every five possessions andmaking 52% of his shots via drives — both the highest rates of hiscareer.