pelicans practice report

Jim Eichenhofer

An emphasis on giveaways and takeaway is more frequently associated with analysis of the NFL, but the turnover battle often determines the outcomes of NBA games as well, particularly in the playoffs. During Friday’s Game 3 loss to top-seeded Phoenix, New Orleans committed 15 turnovers, which was damaging enough in itself, leading to 23 Suns points. Just as problematic, the Pelicans – a high-steals defensive team, particularly late in the regular season – only forced six Suns miscues.

Asked after Saturday’s practice if it’s a priority for his club to be more disruptive against Phoenix’s Chris Paul-led attack, Willie Green responded, “Absolutely. It goes into the (effort) that we have to be better. We have to take it to another notch. We have to cause more deflections, get more steals. (Also) I thought (the Suns) did a good job of coming up with some 50-50 balls. We can’t allow that on our home floor. There’s a reason they were able to put the game away down the stretch, because of those type of plays.”

New Orleans won offensive rebounding 11-9, but that stat was a bit deceptive because Phoenix came up with a couple monumental second-chance baskets in clutch time, including a layup by Jae Crowder in which the ball dropped to him under the rim, after he wasn’t boxed out. In a 114-111 loss where every possession mattered, the Pelicans only scored seven points on the six Suns turnovers.

“You can’t beat yourself with them,” Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado said. “They’re not going to beat themselves. Obviously they’re No. 1 in the West for a reason. They’re really good. With this type of environment, in the playoffs, you’ve got be disciplined in every little thing if you can be. That’s what I’m learning.”

Asked if it can be difficult to not get too excited and stay calm amid the loud environment of the Smoothie King Center on Friday, Alvarado said, “Yeah, but we love it, though. That’s why we play basketball. This is my first time ever experiencing something like that. We need that energy Sunday, and we’re going to try to bring a win on Sunday.” …

Green indicated that the Pelicans need to do a better job of getting touches for Jonas Valanciunas, who was 1/5 from the field in Game 3. The starting center was NOLA’s third-leading scorer this season, averaging 17.8 points.

“That’s something I think I’m mad at myself about,” Alvarado said of offensive involvement for Valanciunas. “As a guard, when I’m in there I’ve got to do my job and get my big man and everyone else involved. I don’t think I did that as well. We’ve got to get him the ball. He’s a great player. He’s been great for us this whole year. He’s one of the reasons why we’re here.”

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: Turnover battle greatly aided Suns in Game 3

When he was asked after Thursday’s practice about Phoenix potentially not having All-Star guard Devin Booker (right hamstring strain) for the rest of Round 1 of the playoffs, New Orleans guard CJ McCollum used an analogy from nature to describe how the Pelicans must approach the situation.

“I told the team many times, a wounded animal is more dangerous than a healthy animal, because you don’t know what to expect,” the nine-year NBA veteran said of Phoenix being without its leading scorer. “You don’t know what other players are going to step up. Game-planning changes, opportunity changes. As a player who’s had a lot of roles in his career, you relish the opportunity for a large role on this type of stage.”

Based on reporting from ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Booker may be sidelined for the rest of the series. The NBA’s top news-breaker tweeted Thursday that Booker “could miss 2-3 weeks” due to the injury he sustained during the third quarter of Game 2 vs. New Orleans.

League-best Phoenix went 56-12 when Booker played during the regular season, 8-6 when he was out, but two defeats in the latter category were in April with the Suns sitting numerous key players. Phoenix’s most impressive victory of 2021-22 sans Booker was a 21-point win over Boston on Dec. 10.

“They’re extremely dangerous,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said. “With Booker, they’re dangerous. Without Booker, they’re dangerous. I’ll continue to say they’re well coached, they’re disciplined, they’re the No. 1 team in the league for a reason. We’ll have approach that game as such.”

During a seven-game stretch in December, Phoenix went 5-2 while Booker was out of action, relying on a balanced offensive attack, with eight different Suns averaging double-digit scoring (Deandre Ayton 19.4, Cam Johnson 14.6, Chris Paul 14.3, Cam Payne 12.9, JaVale McGee 12.0, Mikal Bridges 11.4, Jae Crowder 11.1, Landry Shamet 10.4).

“They’re still a very good team,” McCollum said. “Obviously Book is a special, special talent, and I hope he gets back as soon as possible. Injuries are a terrible part of the game.”

McCollum has been a top-tier player in the NBA for such a lengthy span that it’s easy to forget that it took him a few seasons to establish himself as a prominent part of Portland’s rotation. He pointed out Thursday that he didn’t make his first playoff start until his third season in 2015, when the Trail Blazers faced Memphis in Round 1 and were eliminated in five games. Over McCollum’s first two years in the playoffs, he never logged more than eight minutes in any game. By comparison, New Orleans had three rookies in just Game 2 alone Tuesday who played much more than that (Herbert Jones 40:58, Trey Murphy III 20:08, Jose Alvarado 17:02).

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: Phoenix ‘extremely dangerous’ even without Devin Booker

During an in-season turnaround that set up eventual trips to the play-in tournament and NBA playoffs, New Orleans established itself as one of the league’s best rebounding teams, as well as among the elite clubs in paint points and transition offense. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, to anyone watching them play for the first time this season Sunday against the top-seeded Suns, only one of those three strengths was evident during Phoenix’s 110-99 Game 1 victory.

New Orleans dominated the hosts 55-35 in total rebounds, including by a whopping 25-5 margin on the offensive glass, but the Pelicans were soundly defeated both in the paint (Suns 50-38 scoring edge) and in fast-break points (Suns 15-2). Those negative factors contributed greatly to New Orleans being held under 100 points for the first time since Feb. 10 vs. Miami (CJ McCollum’s Pelicans debut).

As New Orleans prepared to make adjustments to try to put forth a better performance Tuesday in Game 2, Pelicans head coach Willie Green indicated that the most necessary change might be for his players to excel in areas where they’ve already shown consistent success in 2021-22. Asked after Monday’s practice at Arizona State whether he was considering lineup changes for tomorrow, Green said he is not.

“Not at the moment,” Green said. “As a group, we didn’t have a great first half. That wasn’t one individual; that was us as a team. We have to do the things we do better, harder and with more force, and see where we are after that.”

New Orleans needed 65 second-half points to get back in contention Sunday, after Phoenix built a 53-34 halftime advantage amid 22 percent shooting from the Pelicans. New Orleans shot much better after the break (54 percent) and appeared to be more aggressive, reverting back to the style of play that spearheaded an 18-14 close to the regular season (after an 18-32 start). The Pelicans, who averaged 25.7 assists after the All-Star break (ranked 12th in the NBA) mustered a meager five dimes in the opening half, then handed out 15 in the latter.

“Sharing the ball, playing hard, using our defense to fuel our offense,” rookie forward Trey Murphy III said of NOLA’s second-half surge. “That’s something we’ve been doing all year, running on (defensive) stops. That’s been our bread-and-butter. We just got more stops in the second half and were able to get out in transition, and attack the paint.”

“I saw us executing better,” Green said. “I saw us adjust to the speed and physicality of the game. We need to make that adjustment right away. We can’t wait until the second half to do it.”

Murphy and Jose Alvarado were among the seven Pelicans players who made their playoff debut Sunday (out of 10 who saw action). Alvarado said it took New Orleans time to settle in, but the squad eventually produced a significant rally after trailing the defending Western Conference champions by as many as 23 points.

“It’s all new, so we finally figured it out, got into a little rhythm,” Alvarado said after Monday's practice of a second half won 65-57 by NOLA. “There is a lot of good that came out of that game. I know it didn’t end up with a win, but we watched film (Monday). We didn’t shoot the ball well, but we will. We trust each other, and Tuesday is going to be a different game for us.”

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: New Orleans hopes to show more of its season-long strengths in Game 2

A Thursday matchup vs. Portland meant facing a Trail Blazers team full of young players driven to prove themselves in the NBA. Then again, the same description could also apply to New Orleans.

Led partly by two undrafted players (rookie Jose Alvarado, second-year pro Naji Marshall), the Pelicans’ bench attacked Portland immediately, using an aggressive, disruptive defense to build a large first-half lead. New Orleans reserves totaled 64 points in the 127-94 victory, with three other second-unit players – Willy Hernangomez, Larry Nance Jr. and Trey Murphy III – depositing double-digit points.

Since Nance debuted with the Pelicans in a March 24 victory over Chicago, the team’s backups have regularly provided a spark at both ends of the floor, ranking seventh in the NBA in plus-minus (3.5 per game). New Orleans is 6-2 over that span.

“It’s been great,” head coach Willie Green said of his bench after Friday’s practice. “Larry has been a great addition to our second unit. You can put the ball in his hands, he makes plays, he’s talking on the floor defensively. (We have) a lot of like-size guys that can switch multiple screens, which helps our defense.”

Murphy: “Larry coming in and being a facilitator, as well as a presence in the post, has been super important for us, as well as defensively. Me and him have a lot of chemistry already, and it’s been (seven) games. All of our young guys are using our youth to get out and be fast.”

On defense, Pelicans reserves combined for nine steals vs. Portland (Alvarado led the group with four; five others notched one apiece). Marshall has helped spearhead the second unit at that end of the floor by taking on difficult assignments.

“Naji’s been great,” Green said. “He’s aggressive defensively. He and Herb (Jones) are kind of taking turns guarding the best players.”

Green on the status of Brandon Ingram (hamstring) for Saturday at Memphis: “He’s still questionable. Still working through it. He was in the weight room getting some work done today, so we’ll see how he feels.” …

Murphy compared Jones’ Thursday block of Portland guard Keon Johnson to the celebrated rejection Zion Williamson had in college with Duke against Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter.

“You looked at it like, alright, (Johnson) is going to get his shot up and Herb is going to get a good contest, but (Jones) blocked it,” Murphy said. “And you’re like, ‘Wow.’ It took me a minute for me to get out of my seat, because it didn’t register what happened. But that’s just Herb.”

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: Aggressive, attacking bench making big impact

After a difficult and emotional weekend back-to-back vs. San Antonio and the Lakers, Monday was an off day for New Orleans Pelicans players, a chance to rest up before a long road trip and busy upcoming stretch. Instead of kicking back and relaxing Monday, though, several of Jose Alvarado’s teammates drove to the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, to witness a landmark day in the 23-year-old’s pro career.

After going undrafted and agreeing to a two-way deal last summer that initially meant he’d probably spend much of the 2021-22 season with the Birmingham Squadron in the G League, Alvarado’s contributions to the Pelicans (6.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg off the bench) were rewarded yesterday with a new multi-year contract. Brandon Ingram, Willy Hernangomez and Naji Marshall were among the teammates who witnessed the 6-foot point guard’s life-changing moment.

“That just shows how we are as a team,” Alvarado said of teammates attending the signing. “We’re a brotherhood, a family. B.I., Willy, Naji, a lot of people came out to show me love. It means a lot. My family is not down the street (Alvarado is from New York City). For (teammates) on an off day to take time out of their day and come back to the gym, seeing me sign the papers, was pretty cool.”

Other notes from Tuesday’s practice, which preceded the team’s cross-country flight to Portland:

Alvarado on what signing his contract meant to him: “You can’t really put into words how bad I dreamed about this. Finally doing it, it’s amazing, a dream come true.”

The Georgia Tech product FaceTimed with his parents as he signed the deal. They were in constant communication with their son when they learned the news.

“They were just in shock and so amazed,” Alvarado said. “My mom and dad texted me like a million times, saying how happy they are. I can’t wait to go see them again and give them a hug. All they want is for their kid to be happy. That’s what makes them happy. For me to make my dream come true is basically making their dream come true.” …

Asked how he celebrated the new contract, Alvarado replied, “My celebration is making the playoffs. If we make the playoffs, I’m fine with that. I’m trying to focus on the season. Then after (it) maybe we can talk about a celebration.” …

Larry Nance Jr. practiced Tuesday with the team, after sitting out Sunday’s game in the second night of a back-to-back. Saturday vs. San Antonio was his second game since returning from right knee arthroscopy.

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: For Jose Alvarado, new contract is ‘dream come true’

New Orleans lost its first six home games of 2021-22 and was just 3-9 in the Smoothie King Center after a Dec. 8 overtime loss to Denver, not regularly rewarding fans for making the trip to the Pelicans’ home venue. What a difference a few months can make.

The Pelicans are 14-11 at home since that 3-9 start. Less tangibly, they’ve begun to create a more raucous atmosphere in their arena, a bigger factor in gaining a nightly homecourt advantage. Thursday’s 126-109 victory over Chicago was the latest example, with several New Orleans players commenting afterward about the impact made by 13,973 fans.

“It’s been amazing, because the fans are the judge of us, our games,” center Willy Hernangomez said after Friday’s practice. “So when we see more people coming to the building, it means we’re doing something special, something good. We just have to keep doing the same thing.”

New Orleans (31-42) will try to build on that momentum this weekend, when it hosts San Antonio (29-44) and the Lakers (31-42) in consecutive Western Conference matchups.

Although both games are vital in the standings – and Sunday’s game and opponent carries particular local interest, for a variety of well-documented reasons – head coach Willie Green pointed out that he wants players’ attention solely on San Antonio right now and the 4 p.m. Saturday tip-off. Preparation for the Lakers will come Sunday (6 p.m. tip-off).

“Focus on San Antonio,” Green said. “That’s it. Nothing else matters right now. Our focus is being ready for tomorrow afternoon’s game. That’s the deal for us. Let’s get ready for San Antonio. That will be a great challenge and test for us. Once we finish that game, we’ll go to the next game.”

CJ McCollum on Jose Alvarado’s impact on Thursday’s win: “He played really well. He’s aggressive, he’s getting downhill, he’s defending, knocked down some shots, brought a lot of energy. He changed the game. The bench obviously changed the game. That’s what we’re going to need.”

Asked if he’s on board with Hernangomez continuing to take technical free throws – the 76 percent foul shooter made two in the final minute of Thursday’s win vs. Chicago – Green grinned and responded, “We’ll see. Normally he’s not the (best) free throw percentage shooter on the floor, but if he is, then yes, he should shoot the technical. You know, he made both of them, so that’s what counts.”

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: NOLA tries to carry momentum at home into important weekend

Alluding to the staggering number of 50-point games that have taken place around the NBA in March, Larry Nance Jr. joked after Wednesday’s practice that although he’s excited to play in a game for the first time in two-plus months, he probably won’t be joining the likes of recent prolific scorers Karl-Anthony Towns, Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum.

“I feel great,” said Nance, who might make his New Orleans debut Thursday vs. Chicago, “but obviously there is going to be some rust to shake off. I’ve been out for a little bit. I don’t expect to be like the 40th player this month to drop 50. I wouldn’t be expecting that.”

Nance’s most recent game action was Jan. 5 for Portland, which dealt him to the Crescent City in the Feb. 8 trade headlined by CJ McCollum. New Orleans has received a huge boost from McCollum and some valuable bench contributions from Tony Snell, but the third player acquired in the deal has been working to return from knee surgery. First-year head coach Willie Green said after Wednesday’s practice that the Pelicans are hopeful Nance can play against the Bulls.

“It looks like we’re going to have him tomorrow night,” Green said of Nance. “We’ll see. He still has to go through shootaround, but it’s looking good.”

Green on what Nance can provide for New Orleans: “We’re excited. Our guys are excited to have him back in the fold. He’s a prime-time player. He can rebound the ball, he’s athletic, he can guard multiple positions. We’ll become that much faster and dynamic in our ability to guard teams. He adds a ton of value to our squad and what we want to do.” …

Asked about Brandon Ingram’s status for Thursday’s game, Green said, “Not sure about Brandon.” Ingram (right hamstring soreness) participated in Wednesday practice but only in non-contact portions. …

Green said Zion Williamson was cleared to play one-on-one for the first time Wednesday.

“It feels good for him to get on the floor and do some of the things he’s doing,” Green said. “Today was the start of (that).”

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: Larry Nance Jr. may make New Orleans debut Thursday

Wednesday’s busy NBA schedule featured a dozen games, with all 12 contests carrying some kind of implication in the race for playoff or play-in spots. Mid-March is often when avid fans ramp up how much time they spend watching League Pass every evening. The same is true for some NBA players.

“I watched the Lakers play last night,” New Orleans guard CJ McCollum said after Thursday’s practice, when asked how closely he’s monitoring his team’s postseason race. “I watch a lot of games on League Pass, as a fan of the sport obviously.”

Including the ninth-place Lakers (29-40), a handful of Western Conference teams’ results affect 28-41 New Orleans’ position in the standings. That group also features McCollum’s former team, Portland (26-42), and Friday’s opponent, San Antonio (27-43). Although McCollum and the Pelicans certainly are aware of what else is happening in the West, their remaining 13-game slate carries the unique feature of six total head-to-head matchups vs. the Lakers, Trail Blazers and Spurs. If New Orleans wins the majority of those, it may not need much help on the scoreboard to qualify for next month’s play-in tournament.

“Some of it kind of determines our fate,” McCollum said of the outcomes of other games in the West, “but if we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll give ourselves a great chance at the play-in and getting in the playoffs. (Friday at San Antonio is) a big game, but every game for us (is important with) 13 games left. When you’re trying to get in the postseason, every game really matters.”

New Orleans faces the Spurs twice over the next nine days, meets the Lakers on March 27 and April 1, while playing Portland on March 30 and April 7.

“That’s an advantage. We control it,” center Jonas Valanciunas said of the high amount of head-to-head key games. “We’re not depending on another team right now. We’ve just got to lock in to our game.”

McCollum on how he felt during his Tuesday return from a two-game absence vs. Phoenix: “Just tired, a little rusty. Balance was a little off. I turned the ball over a little bit too much. All in all, I thought pretty good, considering I was laying down for a few days. I look forward to getting back out there. My legs feel much better. I got a good lift in yesterday. I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

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Pelicans practice report presented by HUB International: To an extent, NOLA controls play-in fate based on remaining slate

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