One annual tradition of the NBA playoffs is for media members and fans to offer helpful strategy suggestions to coaching staffs who trail in a series, on things like which players should log more minutes and which lineup alterations could produce better results.
Following Sunday’s practice in Metairie, third-year New Orleans head coach Willie Green indicated that he and Pelicans coaches are exploring several possibilities, in an effort to change the results vs. Oklahoma City. The top-seeded Thunder seized a 3-0 series lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal Saturday, posting a second straight victory over the Pelicans by 20-plus points.
“It’s definitely ‘All cards on the table,’ ” Green said of not ruling out many ideas. “So we’ll continue to look at lineups. We’ll look at mixing our defense up. Maybe (using) some small (lineups), maybe adding some more shooting to the lineups. We’re definitely looking at it.”
Willie Green on Game 4 adjustments vs. Thunder | Pelicans Practice 4/28/24
Other notes from Sunday’s practice:
New Orleans has gone from shooting 38.3 percent on three-point attempts during the regular season (fourth among the 30 NBA teams) to just 27.8 percent in the playoffs (14th among 16 clubs). Green on the major drop-off by the Pelicans in that category: “We got good shots (in Game 3). We missed them. It’s been a theme of this series, is that we played good defense – halfcourt defense was solid – but we’re turning the ball over, and we’re missing quality shots. We’ve got to make some of them. That takes some of the pressure off defensively, and it’s not the end of the world because you miss a shot. Right now we have this feeling as a group that every shot is weighted, because we’re putting a ton of pressure on ourselves.” …
The subpar shooting (40.3 percent from the field) has combined with an outbreak of turnovers over the past two games (21 in Game 3), as well as some less-than-ideal shot selection at times. All of those things have helped to ignite Oklahoma City’s offense at the other end of the floor. The Thunder haven’t needed much assistance over the past two games, at a combined 31/65 from three-point range.
“There are some good ones (in terms of Pelicans shot selection), but there are some tough shots that lead to transition opportunities for OKC,” Green said. “We’ve got to try to take a quality shot every time down the floor. When we do it, we get offensive rebounding position and we can get back and set our defense. We have to take care of the ball. Those two things offensively are key for us.” …
Larry Nance Jr. on team's Game 4 outlook, OKC's talent | Pelicans Practice 4/28/24
The injured Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain) was on the practice court Sunday, but only for minimal activity. Green: “He’s just getting on the court, dribbling a little bit. You know you have to be careful with the hamstring. You don’t want to move too quickly. But he is getting better.” Green said Williamson is not running yet. …
Green on ways to get Brandon Ingram (16.3 ppg, 42 percent from the field in series vs. OKC) in better position offensively: “Trying to play faster. Trying to score before the defense is set. Once they get in the halfcourt and (rugged defender Lu) Dort is on him, it’s been a struggle. But when (Ingram is) playing faster, and the ball is moving side to side, we tend to get better quality looks.”
Larry Nance Jr. on the same topic: “Movement, movement, movement (is important). Right now we’re just real stagnant in terms of our iso stuff. You see the result.” …
Asked if it’s a challenge to maintain intensity and effort with the Pelicans down 0-3, Nance responded, “It’s not a mental battle at all for me. Don’t quit. I don’t care if we’re down 25, 30, or up 30 tomorrow, you’re going to get the same level of effort and energy. I’m going to give all I got, and I know these guys (other New Orleans players) will too.”