A series of offseason moves by David Griffin and the front office ensured that New Orleans would not be overly reliant on its three first-round picks this season. At least through three preseason games, however, the rookies are showing they may be more ready for this level of competition than even the biggest optimist anticipated.
No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson powered his way to 26 points in just 23 minutes Friday, while No. 17 selection Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 22 points in only 16 minutes. Meanwhile, eighth pick Jaxson Hayes contributed six points and a couple athletic rejections.
New Orleans was playing without top player Jrue Holiday, who sat out as a precautionary measure with a quad contusion.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
After Javon Bess’ go-ahead layup with 1.4 seconds left, Utah had an inbound pass deflected by Zylan Cheatham, then threw away a second inbound pass all the way across the court. New Orleans ran out the final half-second to wrap up a victory.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Williamson shot 12/13 two days ago in Chicago and this time went 9/12 from the field, meaning he has shot 84 percent over the past 48 hours. His 26-point outing also featured a plus-minus of 13, which was a team high. Although much of his damage again came around the basket and at the foul line (7/9), he also canned his first unofficial three-pointer of preseason in the first quarter.
“I was open, so I shot it,” Williamson said of his successful trey, on his third attempt of preseason. “People kind of exaggerate the ‘can’t shoot’ thing. I’m very capable of shooting it. If they want to leave me open, I'm going to shoot it every time.”
Alexander-Walker on Williamson firing threes: “I am a Zion believer. So anything he does, I will be right behind him 100 percent. If he wants to shoot wide-open threes and knock them down, by all means, keep doing that. It’s only going to make him harder to guard and the team better.”
BY THE NUMBERS
19/38: Utah three-point shooting, making it a major challenge for New Orleans to pull off a victory. The Jazz also had 37 assists, a testament to their ball movement.
25/29: New Orleans foul shooting. Williamson was 7/9 after going 9/15 in the first two games, while Lonzo Ball was a flawless 5/5. Ball shot under 50 percent at the line last season, so that was an encouraging super-early outing.
15: New Orleans turnovers, an improvement from 15 apiece on the road trip to Atlanta and Chicago.