Pelicans shootaround update: New Orleans needs major uptick in offensive performance vs. OKC

A New Orleans team that ranked fourth in three-point shooting percentage during the regular season has not been making perimeter shots at anywhere near the same rate in the playoffs. A Pelicans club that placed just outside the NBA’s top 10 in offensive efficiency is struggling mightily to even approach that level of performance in a best-of-seven series vs. Oklahoma City.

Trailing 3-0 to the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, the eighth-seeded Pelicans likely need a breakthrough offensive performance in Monday’s Game 4 (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports, NBA TV, WRNO 99.5 FM, KGLA 105.7 FM) to keep their season alive. They’re shooting just 40.3 percent from the field and 27.8 percent on three-pointers against Oklahoma City. Those figures were both roughly 10 percent higher during the 82-game schedule (48.6 from field, 38.3 on threes).

“We expect those shots to go in, because we shoot so many at practice,” starting wing Herb Jones said after Monday’s shootaround. “Even after practice. Once we see a couple guys’ shots fall, I think that will help us.”

The Pelicans made one recent adjustment to try to improve their shooting in the Blender, moving shootaround there on the morning of the play-in tournament victory over Sacramento. They returned to the home floor again Monday morning. New Orleans couldn’t hold a shootaround Saturday before Game 3 vs. Oklahoma City, due to it being a 2:30 p.m. tip-off.

Other notes from shootaround:

Asked if the Pelicans are content with the quality of shots they’re getting in the playoffs, Jones said, “They are open shots – we love them.” Unfortunately for New Orleans, it has been held under 30 percent from three-point distance in all three games. The Pelicans did not have any stretches of three straight games under 30 percent during the entire regular season. In fact, they only did it in two consecutive games once, and that was all the way back in October. …

In addition to poor shooting, turnovers have decimated NOLA’s ability to put together offensive spurts. Jones on the miscues: “We can do a better job of taking care of the ball. Some of it is the Thunder (defense). We can cut down on the ones that we can control.”

OKLAHOMA CITY (1ST SEED IN WEST)

Saturday Game 3 win at New Orleans

Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren

Notes: Oklahoma City is reporting no injuries. … The Thunder have been led in scoring in this series by Gilgeous-Alexander (28.3 ppg), Williams (20.3) and Holmgren (15.7). … Oklahoma City is trying to win its first playoff series since 2016, when it reached the West finals, losing in seven games to Golden State. That Game 7 was Kevin Durant’s final appearance in a Thunder uniform.

NEW ORLEANS (8TH SEED IN WEST)

Saturday Game 3 loss vs. Oklahoma City

CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy, Jonas Valanciunas

Notes: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (ankle) is questionable. Zion Williamson (hamstring) is out. … The Pelicans have been led in scoring by McCollum (17.0 ppg), Ingram (16.3) and Jones (13.7). … New Orleans has been a No. 8 seed in each of its last two playoff appearances. The Pelicans were sixth-seeded during their most recent playoff-series triumph (first-round sweep over Portland in 2018).

YOU GOTTA FIGHT
Those were among Willie Green’s words to his team during a memorable 2022 late-game speech, leading to the Pelicans coming from behind to beat the Clippers in a play-in elimination game, advancing to the playoffs. New Orleans is missing its most talented player vs. Oklahoma City due to injury, and with the season at stake, must outperform the Thunder in energy, effort and hustle plays Monday.
PLAYMAKING
Perhaps the most drastic area of needed improvement for New Orleans is assist-to-turnover ratio, which has been in negative in consecutive games, a development that’s nearly impossible to overcome against any NBA opponent, but particularly a 57-win squad such as OKC. The Pelicans recorded only 18 assists in Game 3, compared to 21 costly turnovers (in Game 2, it was 16 to 18).
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Unless New Orleans can generate significantly better offensive production, it will need to lean even more on its defense. All-Defense candidate Jones and the Pelicans have done a decent job on Gilgeous-Alexander so far in the series, with the MVP candidate shooting 51 percent from the field and just 31 percent on three-pointers. He has one 30-point game among the three. Jones at shootaround on SGA: “He can score at all three levels. Very smart player. He knows when to attack. It makes it tough on the defense, a guy who wants to get downhill a lot.”