training camp

Pelicans.com

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team will hold their annual open practice on Saturday, October 16 at 12:00 p.m. CT. The free event will take place at the David R. Stopher Gymnasium on the campus of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA.

“As South Louisiana continues to rebuild after the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, our organization remains steadfast on providing resources to help these impacted communities recover,” said Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson. “Our players, coaches and staff could not be more excited to show our support for South Louisiana and put on a great show at open practice. I also want to thank Nicholls State University for graciously opening their facilities and hosting this event.”

Due to limited inventory, tickets for open practice will be devoted to schools and organizations in Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes that have been directly impacted by Hurricane Ida, with a focus on local high school basketball teams, first responders and youth-centered organizations. The Nicholls State University Athletic Department will be distributing all of the available tickets on behalf of the New Orleans Pelicans. Tickets will not be sold through the New Orleans Pelicans or Nicholls State University box offices.

Doors for the event will open at 11:15 a.m. CT. Free parking will be available on campus. Fans should enter and exit through David R. Stopher Gymnasium on the east side of the building facing Acadia Drive.  Masks must be worn at all times by ticketholders of all ages, except while actively eating or drinking.

Open practice offers fans a firsthand look at the 2021-22 Pelicans team along with an appearance from Pierre the Pelican.

For more information on the Pelicans’ upcoming season, please visit http://www.nba.com/pelicans

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New Orleans Pelicans to hold Open Practice at Nicholls State University on Saturday, Oct. 16

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Photos: Day 3 at New Orleans Pelicans Training Camp 9/30/2021

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Herbert Jones Post-Practice Interview | 9/30/21

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Photos: Day 2 at New Orleans Pelicans Training Camp 9/29/2021

Head Coach Willie Green Post-Practice Interview 9/29/21

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Josh Hart Post-Practice Interview | 9/29/21

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Jim Eichenhofer

Avid listeners of NBA podcasts are accustomed to hearing a few standard preseason predictions, such as which 16 teams will make the playoffs, how many regular season games each club will win, and which players are frontrunners to capture awards like MVP and Rookie of the Year. However, hoops aficionados who subscribe to Zach Lowe’s popular pod were recently treated to Lowe making a friendly wager with ESPN.com writer Andrew Lopez on a less common topic: Who exactly will start in the New Orleans backcourt?

Lowe chose offseason pickup Devonte’ Graham, while Lopez selected third-year returnee Nickeil Alexander-Walker, briefly debating the merits of each choice.

With training camp in its early stages, first-year Pelicans head coach Willie Green has indicated that his starting frontcourt figures to be Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and center Jonas Valanciunas – a surprise to absolutely no one – but the backcourt alignment seems less clear.

In August, Graham acknowledged that he wasn’t coming to New Orleans with any assumptions about what his role would be, saying he’s prepared to start or come off the bench. Over the past two regular seasons in Charlotte, he started in 97 of his 118 appearances, but closed 2020-21 as a high-impact sixth-man scorer when Rookie of the Year point guard LaMelo Ball returned from injury. Alexander-Walker coincidentally has nearly the exact opposite NBA resume in terms of his role, having come off the bench in 79 of his 93 career appearances, but the Virginia Tech product has produced several eye-opening performances as a first-stringer. He poured in 37 points on national TV against the Clippers in January, then dropped in 30-plus points vs. Orlando and Golden State in the second half of the season. Alexander-Walker has averaged 19.7 points in his 14 career starts, on impressive efficiency of 47 percent shooting from the field (and 41 percent on threes).

It’s possible both Graham and Alexander-Walker will be starters, but New Orleans also has an array of other backcourt options that will potentially make playing-time and rotation decisions difficult for Green. The Pelicans acquired steady veteran guards Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple in a summer trade with Chicago, while 2020 first-round pick Kira Lewis Jr. will be vying for more minutes after he logged 904 last season (632 after the All-Star break). In addition, second-year wing Didi Louzada showed more glimpses of defensive ability in his late-season cameos. Meanwhile, a chunk of his minutes come in the frontcourt and he’ll even play some backup power forward at 6-foot-5, but Josh Hart is another backcourt option, officially listed by NBA.com as a guard.

Although New Orleans is one of the NBA’s youngest teams, with only Temple (11 seasons) and Valanciunas (nine seasons) having played more than a half-decade in the league, Green is encouraged by the options he has at guard.

“I do think we have some experience,” Green said on Media Day. “We brought in Garrett Temple, Devonte’ has been a starter, Nickeil can do both – he’s been a starter and come off the bench. So we do have some experience… Maybe (we’re not experienced) compared to the Lakers.

“But I think it’s going to be competitive. There are some positions open. There is opportunity for some of our guards to come in and earn an opportunity, earn a spot. That’s what I want to see in camp. I want to see guys get after it.”

The Pelicans will also spend training camp and preseason determining which combinations of guards work best together. Satoransky, Alexander-Walker, Temple and Louzada give New Orleans above-average size in the backcourt, while Graham and Lewis are quick and skilled ballhandlers who can also score. Graham and Lewis both had assist-to-turnover ratios of 3.5 or better last season.

“It’s going to be a competitive camp,” Green said. “That’s what makes this group special. We believe (Ingram), Zion and Jonas will be frontrunners (to start in the frontcourt), but there is a lot of space and opportunity for other guys to step up… it excites me, because I’m a firm believer that iron sharpens iron.”

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Willie Green will use preseason to determine roles in New Orleans backcourt

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Photos: Pelicans new court look at Ochsner Sports Performance Center

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