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Pelicans

The NBA announced the 10 players who made the NBA All-Rookie teams in the 2021-22 season.
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Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley were unanimously selected to the 2021-22 Kia NBA All-Rookie First Team. More ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/eqKb0CU5GU">https://t.co/eqKb0CU5GU</a> Voting results ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/sxxe12SfTu">pic.twitter.com/sxxe12SfTu</a>
&mdash; NBA Communications (@NBAPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1527080628625231875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The All-Rookie First Team features unanimous selections Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley, while Franz Wagner and Jalen Green rounded out the squad.
The All-Rookie Second Team features Herb Jones, Josh Giddey, Bones Hyland, Ayo Dosunmu and Chris Duarte.

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Other players received votes but did not make one of the teams including Jonathan Kuminga, Davion Mitchell, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Suggs, Ziaire Williams, Jose Alvarado, Austin Reaves, Josh Christopher, Trey Murphy III and Cam Thomas.

The NBA announced which players were named to the league's All-Rookie First Team and All-Rookie Second Team.

Barnes, Cunningham, Mobley headline NBA All-Rookie Teams

We have reached the point where Stephen A. Smith is conjuring up the narrative that Zion Williamson is holding back the New Orleans Pelicans from contending for a title.
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When did we get to this part of the Twilight Zone, I need to get out 😭😭😭 <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> <a href="https://t.co/sOnggL7FYf">pic.twitter.com/sOnggL7FYf</a>
&mdash; Devonte Graham Bricks (@Marvason) <a href="https://twitter.com/Marvason/status/1521244564966756359?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Let's not discuss that clip any further besides pointing out how dramatically <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wednesday-was-a-celebration-of-how-far-the-pelicans-have-come" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Pelicans changed course and captured the respect of the national basketball audience</a> this season. Stephen A.'s rant is less relevant for its substance and more noteworthy because ESPN is&nbsp;still talking about the Pelicans even after they were eliminated from a hard-fought, first-round series. New Orleans started 1-12 (!!) and turned into one of the NBA's true darlings in a matter of months &mdash; all without its most marketable star.
Brandon Ingram asserted his star status, averaging 22.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game (27.0/6.2/6.2 during the postseason) while taking a leap as a playmaker. CJ McCollum fit right in as a "1B" creator and microwave shooter after the trade deadline. Herb Jones is the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reassessing-herb-jones-upside" target="_blank" rel="noopener">certified steal of the 2021 NBA Draft</a>, and undrafted rookie Jose Alvarado isn't too far behind.
There is no hyperbole fit to describe the sheer joy I had watching the Pelicans through the wins and losses of this season, and if you followed along, you recognize the progress that far exceeded the record and results.
Perhaps the best part is that New Orleans remains built for the future.
Only three players hit free agency this offseason: Tony Snell, Jared Harper and Gary Clark. Everyone else is under contract for 2022-23 &mdash; no team options, no restricted free agents and no partial guarantees, per Spotrac. On the signing front, Zion is the biggest domino, as he'll be eligible to sign a rookie extension before hitting restricted free agency in summer 2023. At least publicly, he is giving positive indications:
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I asked Zion Williamson if offered an extension this summer by the Pelicans would he sign it? His answer. &ldquo;Of course, I couldn&rsquo;t sign it fast enough.&rdquo;
&mdash; Fletcher Mackel (@FletcherWDSU) <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1520095546752516096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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However, Williamson has now missed a whopping 141 games in his NBA career. Even if he inks a max extension, which Dan Feldman of NBC Sports says <a href="&ldquo;Obviously,%20that%20conversation%20is%20going%20to%20be%20one%20that%20will%20be%20a%20challenge,&rdquo;%20Griffin%20said.%20&ldquo;When%20it&rsquo;s%20time%20to%20have%20that,%20we&rsquo;ll%20have%20it.%20And%20right%20now%20what%20we&rsquo;re%20focused%20on%20is%20him%20being%20healthy,%20and%20(being%20in)%20kind%20of%20elite%20condition%20to%20play%20basketball%20and%20we&rsquo;ll%20start%20there.&rdquo;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could be worth well over $180 million</a>, Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin implied that talks might be complicated.
&ldquo;Obviously, that conversation is going to be one that will be a challenge,&rdquo; Griffin said. &ldquo;When it&rsquo;s time to have that, we&rsquo;ll have it. And right now what we&rsquo;re focused on is him being healthy, and (being in) kind of elite condition to play basketball and we&rsquo;ll start there.&rdquo;
Ultimately, Williamson's health and wealth are the rudder of the Pelicans' ceiling. But Griffin still has much to address on other fronts.
New Orleans has the Lakers' first round pick with zero protections &mdash; an exciting opportunity given that pick has the eighth-best lottery odds. At the very least, the Pelicans get a free chance to add another young talent to the rotation, and if things break right, they could add another franchise cornerstone.
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Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock projects New Orleans to pick Duke freshman AJ Griffin in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our latest mock draft</a> if they remain at No. 8. Griffin is a high-upside choice as one of the youngest players in the draft class. A long, 6-foot-6 wing, he's returned from injuries in high school and at Duke, and flashes traits of a dynamic three-level scorer and creator.
The Pelicans send their first-rounder to Charlotte as part of last summer's Devonte' Graham trade. But they still hold their own second-round pick (No. 41 overall) and a pick from Utah (No. 52). Babcock has Kentucky center Oscar Tshiebwe and Villanova guard Collin Gillespie mocked to New Orleans in the second round.
Even with a packed roster and their draft picks, the Pelicans still have assets to get frisky in free agency. They'll have $10.2 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception to use on a free agent along with a $4 million bi-annual exception. More notable is their $17 million trade exception generated from trading Steven Adams to the Memphis Grizzlies. New Orleans could absorb a player into that exception with some financial flexibility.
But how much should the Pelicans shake things up? Since Jan. 1, they sported the 17th-best offense and defense, according to Cleaning the Glass, and were still only the ninth seed in a deep Western Conference at season's end. Yet we saw other young prospects &mdash; most notably Jaxson Hayes and Trey Murphy III &mdash; visibly develop as the year moved along. The five-man unit of McCollum, Ingram, Jones, Hayes and Jonas Valanciunas played 294 possessions after the trade deadline and was a solid plus-7.1 points per 100 possessions.
New Orleans receives one of the NBA's biggest boosts if Zion Williamson comes back healthy to open 2022-23. Willie Green gets a summer to prepare after a stellar first season as a head coach. The Pelicans have a bright future ahead, and this offseason should purely be icing on the cake.
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The Pelicans surprised everyone with their run to the NBA Playoffs, and have only just begun an exciting trajectory.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the New Orleans Pelicans?

This past week, the Tampa Bay Pro Combine was held in Wesley Chapel, Florida, hosting 36 draft-eligible prospects, 24 of which had an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of NBA scouts. BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock also serves as executive director of the combine.
Last year, Darryl Hepburn launched the inaugural Tampa Bay Pro Combine. The event proved to be a success as we saw four participants play in the NBA in their rookie seasons: Terry Taylor (Indiana Pacers), Brandon Williams (Portland Trail Blazers), Micah Potter (Detroit Pistons) and Jordan Goodwin (Washington Wizards).
Thanks to title sponsor Florida's Sports Coast, Adam Thomas and Consuelo Sanchez, the event returned for a second year with hopes of helping more players find success as they transition from college to the pros. Last Friday, we wrapped up the event. Here is a recap of the 2022 Tampa Bay Pro Combine:
Arrival
Last year, we had nearly 50 players come to the Tampa Bay Pro Combine. However, we decided to change things this time around, bringing in a smaller group &mdash; 24 draft-eligible prospects &mdash; to participate in two days of simulated pre-draft workouts. Another big difference was that the workouts would be in front of NBA scouts and executives this year. We also welcomed 12 additional prospects to participate in some workouts and games. All in all, we had 36 players visit Tampa.&nbsp;
As we prepared our list of potential invites, we looked to put together a talented group of players with pro-potential, primarily fourth- and fifth-year seniors coming out of college who would be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft. We targeted players from all over the country. We brought players to Tampa from various schools, including Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Houston, Kansas State, Kentucky, Oregon, Providence, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Washington State, West Virginia and more.
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Ready to get going - Let&rsquo;s run it. 🏀🏁<a href="https://twitter.com/deemintz1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@deemintz1</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/_davwarr3n?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_davwarr3n</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/BallForever_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BallForever_</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/fulkerson_john?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fulkerson_john</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/AbuKigab?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AbuKigab</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/JericoleHellems?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JericoleHellems</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/Mark_Smith_13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mark_Smith_13</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TampaBayProCombine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TampaBayProCombine</a> <a href="https://t.co/5z7XKUqMiS">pic.twitter.com/5z7XKUqMiS</a>
&mdash; Tampa Bay Pro Combine (@_TBPC) <a href="https://twitter.com/_TBPC/status/1518974087460184065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The players arrived throughout the day on April 25, and we arranged rides to our event hotel, the brand new Residence Inn in Wesley Chapel. We provided them with Adidas gear and had dinner before going to our rooms. A good night's sleep was in order as the next two days were important since the players would be showcasing their talents in front of NBA scouts. A lot was on the line!
NBA Sessions
The next day, April 26, NBA scouts from a wide variety of teams arrived at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus and sat along the sideline as trainers from Yo Murphy Performance warmed up the players for our first "NBA session." Shortly after, Coach Bob MacKinnon had the players and our staff huddle up, shouting out his signature "1, 2, 3&hellip; hard work!" before we broke off for the first workout.
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That day, the first group of six players started things off right. You could feel the intensity in the gym immediately. It was clear that the players and coaches were there with a purpose. After a series of shooting drills and skill work, MacKinnon directed the group as they transitioned into competitive play, starting with 1-on-1 and finishing with 3-on-3. I don't think there is any denying that the workout was challenging and competitive. The remaining groups matched the same level of competitiveness over the two days.

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As executive director of the Tampa Bay Pro Combine, I'm responsible for inviting the players and convincing them to come. All of the young men that came to Tampa trusted me when I told them that we were putting together a platform that would help them gain exposure as they pursued their dream of playing professional basketball. Being able to contribute to helping them get closer to accomplishing their goals is beyond rewarding for me.
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Many players helped themselves those first two days, including Michael Flowers from Washington State, Noah Horchler from Providence, Nate Johnson from Xavier and Davion Warren from Texas Tech, just to name a few.
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Three-Point Shootout
After a couple of intense days working out in front of NBA teams, we put together an optional workout on April 28, which was light, and then former NBA player Shelden Williams interviewed a number of the guys throughout the day for BasketballNews.com.
In the afternoon, we gave guys plenty of time to relax, with many of them even taking advantage of Tampa's beautiful weather by lounging at the pool of the Residence Inn and enjoying the sunshine. Later that night, we had some fun. The facility hosted a local high school All-Star game and had one of our players, Taze Moore from the University of Houston, do some dunks at halftime &mdash; he put on a show!
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To finish up the night, we held a Three-Point Shootout. The participants included Jalen Adaway (St. Bonaventure), Michael Flowers (Washington State), Noah Horchler (Providence), Nate Johnson (Xavier), Davion Mintz (Kentucky), and Cole VonHandorf (Fairmont State). Mintz started hot in the first round, but it wasn't enough as Flowers ultimately won the shootout.
Double-Header
Our last session on the court was on April 29, with some 5-on-5 play. We had three-time NBA champion and current BasketballNews.com writer and podcaster James Posey and former college standout player at Arizona and South Florida Jesus Verdejo coach the teams in both games.&nbsp;
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The first game was competitive from start to finish, ultimately seeing Team 1 win over Team 2, 100-92. Davion Mintz and Davion Warren led Team 2 in scoring with 24 and 22 points, respectively. Team 1's Amadou Sow won game MVP, scoring 26 points and grabbing an impressive 12 rebounds.
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Team 3 started fast on Team 4 in the second game, leading 26-11 after the first quarter. Kalob Ledoux and Ronaldo Segu led Team 4 in scoring, with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Meanwhile, West Virginia's Malik Curry scored 24 points, earning himself MVP honors.
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Thank You, and Good Luck
To cap off the week, our title sponsor, Florida's Sports Coast, and their manager, Consuelo Sanchez, hosted our entire group at Chuck Lager in Wesley Chapel for dinner to celebrate the successful week before everyone flew back home the following day.
That's another year in the books for the Tampa Bay Pro Combine. As our players set out to make the next steps in the pre-draft process and their respective careers, I'd like to wish everyone the best and thank them for allowing us to play a small part in their journey. Thank you to all of our staff and partners who worked so hard to make this past week happen!
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BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock shares an outlined recap of the 2022 Tampa Bay Pro Combine.

Recapping the 2022 Tampa Bay Pro Combine

Despite their recent playoffs ousting <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/chris-pauls-masterclass-game-6-performance-the-latest-moment-of-greatness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at the hands of Chris Paul</a>, the future for the New Orleans Pelicans feels much brighter than most projected at the turn of the year. Three rookies combined to play 32% of Willie Green's rotational minutes, including lineups that contained all three. It's not often that a singular rookie plays positive minutes in a competitive playoff series, and it's near unheard of to have a trio doing the same.
Trey Murphy III, the 17th overall pick in last year's draft, and Jose Alvarado, the undrafted free agent signing who steadily garnered a cult following this year, had huge moments in this series.&nbsp;
Herbert Jones stood above the rest.
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Still thinking about this from Herb <a href="https://t.co/4SVi3fLkM0">pic.twitter.com/4SVi3fLkM0</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1520109239884292096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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If you follow me and my work, your timeline has been absolutely littered with clips and musings about the southpaw forward dating back to Summer League.
His defensive play has stood out since he was at Alabama, where he was the 2020-21 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and 2x SEC All-Defense, and that's what allowed him to make his mark for the Pelicans this season. How good was his defense? We had him on our Second Team All-Defense during our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/defensive-awards-and-a-celebration-of-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defensive awards roundtable</a> with myself, Jackson Frank, and Nekias Duncan.
Jones is not just awesome for a rookie; he's awesome period and has legitimately staked his claim as one of the best defenders in basketball.
His help instincts are fantastic. He makes rotations and defensive slides with a consistent intensity that few can match. Jones is a stonewall at the point of attack and already might be the best screen navigator in the league. He's adept at utilizing his hands and feet simultaneously to keep the ball in front. What makes him special to me as a defender is his body control. Considering how much time he spends defending primary options, it's remarkable that he didn't have a higher foul rate: 4.1% was in the 25th percentile this year per Cleaning the Glass, but that doesn't take into account defensive responsibility.
Jones finished 6th in BBall Index's matchup difficulty ranking, which gauges the players guarded and adjusts their defensive metrics accordingly. Jones had the fourth-lowest foul rate out of the top six defenders in matchup difficulty. He ended behind Dorian Finney-Smith, De'Andre Hunter, and Luguentz Dort but just ahead of Dillon Brooks and Matisse Thybulle.
Defense is the foundation of Jones' game, but we've seen numerous defense-first prospects come into the league and struggle to establish a larger role on their respective roster. Jones became a full-time starter at the end of November, averaging 31.3 minutes per game from November 24th to the end of the regular season. He closed games for the Pelicans. He took on more ball-handling duties both in bringing the ball up the court and some secondary offensive actions.
How did we get here? How did Herb Jones go from, "He could be a useful rotation player," to viable NBA starter?
Oddly enough, Jones has shown a greater level of touch in the NBA than he ever did in four years at Alabama, which is a wild thing to ponder.
Let's pull back the covers here.
According to Instat Scouting, Jones shot 35.6% on drives as a senior at Alabama (104 attempts) and 34.5% for his career. As a rookie in the NBA, Jones shot 46% on drives according to Second Spectrum tracking data (137 attempts). That is an astounding growth!&nbsp;
For reference, if Herb had shot 35.6% in the league, that would've made him the fourth least efficient finisher of drives in the league (1.5 FGA on drives per game, at least 40 games played). While 46% is still a bit below average, it can't be undersold what an upgrade that is.
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As a driver at Alabama, Jones really struggled with decceleration. He was fantastic at getting to the rim, but he was equally adept at smothering himself once he got there. There was fairly minimal pacing to his delivery. There were a ton of awkward footing jumps. So many of his attempts at the rim just felt off before they even left his hand. The handle is quite solid for his size, but the exchange from the floor to the rim felt clunky.
In the NBA, Jones gets to attack off the catch more and benefit from stepping into downhill attacks, yet he's better even with the ball in his hands.
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He's thrown in more hesitation and stutters. He's using the rim more to protect some of his drives and attempts rather than trying to force up a tough touch shot after barreling into the paint. The footwork is a good deal more crisp than last season, and he seems better at getting skinny through tight spaces in traffic.
He still has some really rough misses. Late help or an eager low man can clean up his shots. He doesn't have a ton of counters right now. He was 3-for-21 on floaters this year on drives according to InStat, which is about where he was at Alabama. He still has some "Woah, what was that?" type misses, but it's hard to deny both in watching and via data that he has better touch. It's been one of the weirdest things to follow this year, and finally pulling the numbers was startling.
Let's peel back another layer.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 18.1217%; text-align: center; height: 44px;">Season</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; text-align: center; height: 44px;">3 Point Percentage</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; text-align: center; height: 44px;">3 Point Attempts</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; text-align: center; height: 44px;">Free Throw Percentage</td>
<td style="width: 18.1267%; text-align: center; height: 44px;">Free Throw Attempts</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">2017-18 (Freshman)</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">26.9%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">7/26</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">50%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1267%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">24/48</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">2018-19 (Sophomore)</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">28.6%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">6/21</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">49.5%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1267%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">52/105</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">2019-20 (Junior)</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">7.1%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">1/14</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">62.5%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1267%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">65/104</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">2020-21 (Senior)</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">35.1%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">20/57</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">71.3%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1267%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">92/129</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">2021-22 (NBA)</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">33.7%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">57/169</td>
<td style="width: 18.1217%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">84%</td>
<td style="width: 18.1267%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">137/163</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Data courtesy of Basketball Reference and College Reference
Again, astounding development.&nbsp;
I'm not comfortable in saying what level of shooter he could be in time, but to go from where he was two years ago to now is an insane growth curve.
He was ignored as a shooter at Alabama last year, and while he eventually was in the playoffs most of the time this year, the growth in confidence was immense. His shot was a bit up and down, but Pels shooting coach Fred Vinson, along with Jones' work ethic, has seemingly been a Dragon Ball-Z esque fusion dance combination.
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At Alabama, he brings the ball across his face from right to left on the release, and while he's squared up, his feet are pretty close together with a notable valgus collapse (reverse "V" shape with knees).
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In the NBA, the ball isn't coming all the way across his body anymore. There's still the valgus collapse, but it's not as pronounced, giving him a much cleaner shot overall that's easier to replicate.
He has a very good feel for the game and excellent court vision, which he put on display throughout much of his amateur career, but his improved efficacy as a driver allows him to showcase more live dribble playmaking rather than strictly connecting plays. Drawing closeouts as a shooter and having the ability to run actions or spark plays as a secondary initiator allows him to flex those playmaking chops.
The gains he's made this season have arguably made him the most viable he's ever been as an offensive creator. He already has the basis to be a starter on a playoff team, because he was one this year. While every player has some sort of ceiling due to physical limitations or other limitations in their game, it's hard to put a cap on what his ceiling might be.
If you'd asked me last year whether or not I thought Herb Jones could be a starter in the NBA, I probably would've said it was unlikely barring some sizable growth. Well, that sizable growth has happened.
The level of defender that Jones is, along with an already solid baseline of offensive plays, will allow him something that many prospects struggle to get: playing time. Because he can already do impactful things on the court, he'll continue to get incredibly valuable in-game reps. The G-League is great, but getting to craft your game at the highest level is an entirely different developmental scenario.
Could Jones be an All-Star someday? I can't rule it out. He's already blown me away with his growth. I wouldn't bet on it happening, but I certainly wouldn't bet against it either.
Can he take more steps as a ball-handler or find some extra bend as a driver? I wouldn't call him a stiff driver, but he doesn't generate crazy power with his first step. If there's some added flexibility in his legs, maybe he gets an extra oomph of burst.
Can he find more with his touch outside of just his jump-shot from three? Herb took 53 jumpers inside the arc and hit 35.8% of them according to InStat. Is there some pull-up viability in time? Can he factor in more pacing and craft out of ball-screens? Can all these things compound into him becoming capable of carrying a larger creation burden?
Again, I'm not sure, but the point remains that higher pathways are within reach as he continues to develop. Herb Jones is already a star in his role, and there might be more there than meets the eye or that can be ascertained on paper when taking his full developmental journey into context.

After a remarkable rookie season from Herbert Jones, what can we take away from his play and project about his future?

Reassessing Herb Jones' upside

It appears as though the New Orleans Pelicans are playing harder and more aggressively, and with a greater sense of urgency and more passion, than the Phoenix Suns are at this point of their playoff series.
Herb Jones is putting on a Superman cape to leap tall buildings in a single bound and block three-point attempts. The scrappy Jose Alvarado forced Chris Paul into an eight-second violation in the backcourt, something that very rarely happens to the veteran point guard. The bench is fired up for the entire game, and the team is playing with a passion that hasn&rsquo;t been seen in New Orleans for quite some time.
Nobody outside of that city could&rsquo;ve imagined that this series would be tied at two games apiece with the highly-favored, 62-win, defending-Western-Conference-champion Suns.&nbsp;
Having said that, there seems to be a feeling of disrespect from the national media for a team that has exceeded the expectations of so many in the sports world.&nbsp;
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I spoke with Pelicans color analyst Antonio Daniels about his assessment of the team and that national media disrespect toward New Orleans.
Etan Thomas: First, how great is it to see the Pelicans prove a lot of people wrong who didn't even give them a chance?
Antonio Daniels: "Oh, man. Well, for me, it's not even about it being great, proving people wrong. The great part is what I've seen this team accomplish. People are going to doubt no matter what. I don't care who you are, or what you've ever done, how good you are. People are always going to doubt. But you can't allow people's doubts to actually affect the way that you think about yourself. I have said this about this team from Day 1, and I actually have it bookmarked in my Twitter feed; Nov. 5, I said at this time, 'This team gets healthy, they're a playoff team. If they get healthy, they're a playoff team.' And I remember I was doing the pregame show and David Wesley, who's a good friend of mine, turned and faced my way and was almost like to say, 'Whatever.' You know what I mean?
Etan: Right.
Daniels: "Here's the thing, Etan. When you're talking about success in this league, it's not going to [happen] if you don't have a culture of overachievement. It doesn't happen. You have to have guys that overachieve, guys that are outplaying the expectation. You can go all the way back to the Golden State Warriors. What they did with Steph Curry and Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and those guys. They all overachieved. Did you think when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were coming out that they would be the best shooting backcourt in history? Or when Draymond Green was coming out, at this point in his career, he would be a Hall-of-Famer? No. But they created a culture of overachievement.
"What you have here in New Orleans is, a lot was going on early on in the season, new pieces trying to fit in along with head coach Willie Green. And that's a lot to take on early; 1-12, 3-16 is what this team started. And now, at that time, the talk was, 'Let's tank. There's no Zion.' Fans all said they should just tank the season. Even when you acquired CJ McCollum. I remember Stephen A. Smith saying, 'Oh, I don't know what they're doing. Why would CJ McCollum want to go there? New Orlenas ain't going anywhere anyway.'
"The disrespect from the national media is, I think, what guys really pay attention to. And I think they do somewhat use that as motivation. But to be a part of this journey, Etan, from Day 1 of training camp, to Zion being hurt [and] not being available throughout the course of this team's season, being without your best player and seeing what this team has been able to accomplish, climbing out of that 3-16 start, it's been special."
Etan: Talk about the addition you mentioned of CJ McCollum and how much that has helped the entire team.
Daniels: "I'll say this first: What people forget about in that addition is that Larry Nance was in that [trade] as well, and people aren't talking about that. People are talking about CJ, and CJ's been fantastic. But I'll tell you what, I don't think that the Pelicans are at this point without Larry Nance Jr. He was the difference in the Play-In game against the Clippers because what he offers you is versatility at the 5 spot that you didn't have prior to him. Versatility and experience. When teams go small, like you see a lot of the NBA doing now, and they're basically playing five forwards like the Toronto Raptors, it&rsquo;s problematic for opposing teams. You need a big that is experienced, knowledged, but understands strengths and weaknesses [and] also has the skill set to compete. Larry Nance Jr was great. And people don't talk about him enough."
Etan: Great point.
Daniels: "But to get to CJ &mdash; CJ's playing the best basketball of his career. And from his words, he's a servant leader. And I love it because he's not very vocal, but he leads by example. He came in and he said, 'You know what, man? I want Brandon Ingram to be the best version of himself' on Day 1. Because if B.I.'s the best version of himself, that will allow me (meaning CJ McCollum) to be the best version of myself. And I remember asking CJ, when I sat down and I interviewed him, talking about, 'How do you develop chemistry between you and B.I.?' And he said, 'You know what? I'll do the same thing with him that me and Dame [Lillard] did. We sat down and we watched films together. I want to know where he wants to ball. I want him to be vocal with me. I want to know where his hotspot is, what plays he likes, when he needs me to back down and allow him to be the best version of himself.' The communication between those two from Day 1 was at an all-time level.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
𝙋𝙀𝙇𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙉 ⚜️ Brandon Ingram : 30 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST ⚜️ Jonas Valanciunas : 26 PTS, 15 REB, 4 AST ⚜️ Cj McCollum : 18 PTS, 9 REB Les <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> l'emportent 118-103 et reviennent &agrave; 2-2 face &agrave; Phoenix ! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WBD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WBD</a> <a href="https://t.co/zbghiMm2fU">pic.twitter.com/zbghiMm2fU</a>
&mdash; NBA France (@NBAFRANCE) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFRANCE/status/1518469593290919937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

"But, Etan, what really helped this team was the All-Star break. Because if you look at what this team has done post-All-Star break, that was the chemistry between CJ and B.I. really starting to take off. We opened up in Phoenix. First game at the All-Star break, we opened up in Phoenix. And they talked at length about the dinner that they had in Phoenix the night before, where they just got an opportunity to connect to one another and to communicate with one another. This team has been rolling ever since when those two are on the floor together with a healthy starting five."
Etan: I want you to talk a little bit about Coach Willie Green. I actually posted and tweeted the clip of <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1515310682945855488?s=20&amp;t=jxzjmwJgR9FJ3SYvF7c53w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">him motivating the guys</a>. It made me feel like I want to go out there and lace them back up and get ready to go play. Talk about how great he has been for this team.
Daniels: "Listen, Etan, I can't put it into words the respect that I have for Willie Green from Day 1. You know it's funny. Because when you're losing, people don't want to hear about it. People don't want to hear about the positives when you're losing. They only want to hear about the positives when you start playing well. And when this team was 1-12, and then, when they were 3-16... I'll tell you, Etan, we've both played on bad teams; you know what a shootaround is like walking into the gym when you're 3-16. This was not it. I have never seen more spirited shootarounds from, at the time, what seemed to be a bad basketball team. And that started with Willie Green. He never blinked. He never allowed this team to lose confidence. His faith in this team never wavered, and he stands on his faith as a whole.
"I'll give you a quick example. You know how many coaches have the open-door policy where you can come in and talk? I meet with Willie Green from time-to-time. We'll go into his office. We'll talk or sit or chat or go out to dinner. Etan, our meetings ended with prayer. How many coaches have you ever gone in to meet with and talk about the team or whatever it may be and, when it's all said and done, you guys are at his desk praying together? That speaks to the man that Willie Green is. He is one of those guys that is so inspiring because he makes you want to be a better version of yourself. I don't hoop no more, Etan. If that's how he makes me feel, I can imagine how he makes players feel. When you have guys like Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, Jaxson Hayes &mdash; all these guys, when their number was called, they were ready to go. Because when they weren't playing, Willie Green was still speaking grace, life and confidence into them. And I had an opportunity to see it up close and personal. I am at every practice, at every shootaround. I've traveled with the team. I eat with the team. To see his communication with them, his ability to relate to them [is incredible].
"And I'm a proud believer, Etan, that the best coaches in this league are role players. You know why? Because they can relate to everybody from 1-to-15. If you're a star player, you can't relate to the guy who hasn't played in six games or the guy who's major inconsistent. Willie Green has started in this league, he's been a sixth man, he's been in situations where his minutes weren't guaranteed and he's also been in a situation where he hadn't played at all. Tell me who on that bench he cannot relate to! And there's nothing more important in today's NBA than a coach's ability to relate to his players. I don't care about your defensive schemes, I don't care about your X's and O's. If the players feel like you can't relate to them, they will not play as hard for you. But the moment that they feel like you care about them as men, as fathers, as husbands &mdash; they will run through a wall for you. And I'm telling you, Willie Green has that locker room so engaged, because of the way that he handles himself throughout adversity."
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Etan: Wow. That's great to hear, and I thought that about him already, just from knowing who he is. But it's great to hear you say that. Let me ask you one more thing. I know you don't worry about the haters and the noise and social media, all that stuff, but they keep bringing up the fact that because Devin Booker isn't there, that's the reason why the Pelicans are in this series. I was like, 'Well, wait a minute. Y'all forget that Zion isn't there either?' I'm like, y'all forgot about that part.
Daniels: "Here's the thing. Has there ever been an NBA champion where there's not a 'What if?' attached to it? Let's just go back to a year ago. Remember when Trae Young got hurt against Milwaukee? Remember when Kyrie Irving got hurt against Milwaukee? Remember James Harden had to come back as a shadow of himself with half of a hamstring versus Milwaukee? Remember a couple years back when Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson got hurt, and then Toronto won the championship? Look, ain't nobody tripping on that. This is the league full of injuries. You get certain things that are out of your control. So If people say, 'Oh man, the only reason that the Pelicans won is because (fill in the blank), well, okay.' But you are not going to find an NBA champion, a NFL champion where breaks don&rsquo;t go somebody's way.
"But I'll tell you this, there are two teams in the NBA who have yet to play with their best player. I'm talking about not even one practice. Not even one practice this year with their best player. It's the L.A. Clippers and the New Orleans Pelicans. Kawhi [Leonard] literally practiced one time. But let me tell you the difference. The difference is, Kawhi Leonard has practiced with Tyronn Lue before. He's practiced with him before, last year. Zion does not have one practice with Coach Willie Green. Not one. The last that Zion has been on the floor is when he was averaging 26 points per game and shooting 61% from the field under Coach Stan Van Gundy.
"So people can sit here and say, 'Oh, well, the only reason is, because...' So what? So what? Your job is to go out and your job is to play. Plain and simple. Look at the playoffs now. Khris Middleton is sidelined. Luka [Doncic] was sidelined. Kyle Lowry is sidelined. You get guys that are injured all the time. What are the Pelicans supposed to say? 'Ah, you know what man? Devin Booker's not there. Let's wait. Let's wait until they have help and then come back to finish this series.' No. Your job is to take advantage of the situation that's given."
Etan: That&rsquo;s absolutely correct.
Daniels: "And I'll tell you this, Etan, it goes along with the national narrative of the lack of respect that's given to the Pelicans. It goes right along with it. It doesn't matter. You know this better than anybody. It doesn't matter what people think about you. 'You ain't never believed in me as long as I believe in myself.' And this is a team, right now, that believes in themselves."
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Etan Thomas speaks with former teammate and Pelicans color analyst Antonio Daniels about NOLA's playoff surge vs. Phoenix.

Antonio Daniels: Pelicans have been disrespected by national media

Hamstring injuries freakin'&nbsp;suck.&nbsp;
Not only are they painful and annoying to deal with, they have the ability to linger. You never quite know when you're in the clear. As Charles Barkley alluded to following the New Orleans Pelicans' 125-114 Game 2 victory, you can be 100% one day and back on the shelf the next.
This is the plight of Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker. After cooking in the first half to the tune of 31 points, he tweaked his hamstring in the third quarter and didn't return. As of this writing, there's no timetable for Booker's return. That obviously puts Booker's Game 3 status in flux, but, again, hamstring injuries are tricky. Even when he's back, a close eye on his health will be warranted.
Following Booker's injury, more of the offense naturally shifted to Chris Paul. The burden was clear in the fourth quarter, where Paul played all 12 minutes and received 25 ball-screens in the process, via Second Spectrum. It was only the seventh time this season that Paul received more than 20 in a fourth quarter; the only game where Paul received more screens (26 against the San Antonio Spurs on December 6) was one without Booker.
To that point, the Suns got pretty busy in that quarter. Trips featuring a Paul ball screen generated nearly 1.27 points per possession (PPP); for reference, the Utah Jazz led the NBA in offensive rating at 1.16 PPP.
The Suns were even better against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, with Paul-led ball screens generating nearly 1.5 PPP. To do that is insane; to do that without Booker as a release valve or bail-out option is even more ridiculous.
Without Booker, the Suns needed a lift. A literal one. They often set up pick-and-rolls with ghost screens before Paul and his center &mdash; JaVale McGee to begin the quarter, then Deandre Ayton later &mdash; did their dance.
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While the pick-and-roll would occur, a shooter would lift up the floor to put a Pelicans helper in a tough spot. Tagging the big on the roll would leave the shooter open; hugging the shooter would give the big a lane to the rim.
The Suns opened the fourth quarter with a pick-and-lift combo. Landry Shamet ghosted a screen to end up on the left wing, then Paul and McGee flowed into a pick-and-roll. That placed Jose Alvarado into a pick-your-poison situation.&nbsp;
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With Herb Jones getting caught up on the screen for Paul, Larry Nance Jr. steps up to take away a pull-up middy. Since Nance Jr. stepped up to Paul, Alvarado dropped down to account for McGee's roll. If you're counting at home, that's three Pelicans accounting for two Suns. There's a guy missing.&nbsp;
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Ah. There he is.
The beauty of the Suns' offense is that there are layers and variations to everything they do. They can get more creative, like here when they threw in an exit screen for Shamet while having Cam Johnson (right corner) lift during Ayton's roll.
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Poor Alvarado, man.
They can also simplify it &mdash; go basic spread pick-and-roll with a lone shooter on a side. Watch Johnson, first and foremost, while also noting that the Pelicans went from drop coverage to a more aggressive scheme with Jonas Valanciunas.&nbsp;
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That's the good stuff. It's imperative that the Suns manipulate helpers to create advantages, because their best advantage-creator is on the mend right now.&nbsp;
However, this is a two-way street. Much like the Suns were &mdash; and will need to be &mdash; able to generate goodness with their lifts, they also have to be much better about defending them. The Pelicans had some fun in Game 2.
My favorite stretch came midway-ish through the third quarter. The Pelicans set up a similar exit-screen strategy on one side, while Trey Murphy ghosted a screen and relocated to the right wing. That left the right corner open, giving Nance Jr. an unhealthy amount of space to run into for this lob.
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A little bit later, the Pelicans set up the same thing. With the Suns keying in on the Nance Jr. lob, Murphy executed a lift of his own and got three points out of it.&nbsp;
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I love a good half-court counter.
This series was always going to come down to a blend of half-court execution and #ethical shot-making. The Suns had Booker as a headliner, Paul as a guy who can do it in spurts (hello, Game 1) and a ridiculously deep playbook. The Pelicans have Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and some nifty half-court tricks in their own bag.
If Booker is out of the equation, the Suns will have to lean more on the half-court execution. Their off-ball movement may be the lift they need.
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Nekias Duncan highlights an area of the Phoenix Suns' offense that they'll need to tap into with Devin Booker injured.

With no Devin Booker, the Phoenix Suns will need a lift

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the depleted Los Angeles Clippers 105-101 in a play-in Friday night and earn the West&rsquo;s No. 8 seed for the playoffs.
The Pelicans made the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18, guided by first-year coach Willie Green, a former Clipper. They&rsquo;ve been without Zion Williamson all season because of a foot injury.
The Clippers were dealt a huge blow earlier in the day when Paul George entered the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols. They&rsquo;d already been without Kawhi Leonard all season while he rehabbed an ACL injury. He watched from the bench early in the game.
CJ McCollum added 19 points for New Orleans, which will play No. 1 seed Phoenix in the first round. Game 1 is Sunday in the desert.
Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson each had 27 points for the Clippers.
The Pelicans shot 57% in the first half and were better on the boards, in the paint and off the bench. They led by 16 in the second quarter before the Clippers cut their deficit to 56-46 at halftime.
The Clippers roared back in the third, outscoring the Pelicans 38-18. They opened with a 20-2 run that had the crowd on its feet. Jackson scored 10 points and Morris added six in the spurt.
Robert Covington started the third in place of 7-footer Ivica Zubac and his three-point play gave the Clippers a 75-62 lead, their largest of the game.
Ingram scored five of the Pelicans&rsquo; final 12 points to send them into the fourth trailing 84-74.
That&rsquo;s when New Orleans staged a rally of its own.
After the Clippers scored to go up by 13 points, the Pelicans ran off 11 straight points and then McCollum hit a 3-pointer to tie it, 88-all.
Rookie Trey Murphy hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter for another tie at 94-all.
That sparked a 10-0 run that gave the Pelicans a 101-94 lead, capped by Murphy&rsquo;s 3-pointer that bounced on the rim and went in.
The Clippers twice closed within two in the final 1:17, but they missed 2 of 4 free throws and Jackson and Morris missed shots down the stretch to see their season slip away.
The Clippers, who made the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history last year, also were missing Luke Kennard. The league&rsquo;s 3-point percentage leader didn&rsquo;t play because of a sore right hamstring that kept him out of the loss at Minnesota on Tuesday in the team&rsquo;s first play-in game.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: They had won the season series, 3-1.
Clippers: Hadn't missed the playoffs since 2017-18 season. ... Nicolas Batum and Terance Mann started in place of George and Kennard ... Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said Leonard &ldquo;continues to progress with his rehab,&rdquo; but there is no timetable for his return.
UP NEXT
The Pelicans were 1-3 against the Suns this season.

In a hotly-detested play-in contest, the New Orleans Pelicans fought their way into a first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.

Pelicans earn 105-101 win over Clippers, claim No. 8 seed

From their first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance to a last-gasp play-in game, the Los Angeles Clippers have been a surprisingly resilient bunch.
They finished two games above .500 despite not having superstar Kawhi Leonard all season and losing Paul George for a big chunk of it. They traded for Norman Powell in February, only to lose him to injury days later.
George and Powell recently returned within days of each other and sparked the Clippers to a five-game winning streak to end the regular season.
They're not ready to head home for the summer.
The Clippers are a four-point favorite against the New Orleans Pelicans in their play-in elimination game Friday night, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba">FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>
&ldquo;Honestly, it&rsquo;s not even about the matchup,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no pep talk, no X&rsquo;s and O&rsquo;s. We got to win.&rdquo;
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-pelicans-san-antonio-spurs-los-angeles-clippers-phoenix-suns-nba-6ee83546d2425bc98075a06b0c19dc3e">The Pelicans </a> advanced with a 113-103 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-eeb23f11c4002d7d2f48dffeac32dcc9">The Clippers lost </a> to the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-104, which cost them the No. 7 seed and a first-round matchup against Memphis.
&ldquo;I definitely hope that we keep our spirits high, that we understand we still got another one on Friday, that we control our own destiny,&rdquo; Clippers guard Reggie Jackson said.
The winner earns the No. 8 seed and a first-round meeting with the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns. The Clippers lost to the Suns in six games in last year's conference finals.
MISSING IN ACTION
Both teams will be without their superstars.
Leonard continues to work his way back from surgery for a partial tear of his right ACL that occurred in the second round against Utah last year. The team has honored Leonard's penchant for privacy and provided little information about his status.
However, he has maintained a presence around the team and will be on hand Friday.
&ldquo;Even when PG was out, just having those guys around means a lot to this team, especially a young team,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said Thursday.
Zion Williamson is progressing in his recovery from a foot injury that has kept him out all season for the Pelicans and has been participating in controlled scrimmages. However, the 2019 top overall draft pick isn't expected to play against the Clippers, although he did steal the show with <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/zion-williamson-throws-down-360-windmill-dunk-before-pelicans-play-in-game">a pair of windmill dunks </a> during warmups Wednesday.
THREE-PRONGED ATTACK
Even without Williamson, the Pelicans have still got a potent Big Three, so to speak, as the Spurs found out.
CJ McCollum, acquired in a midseason trade, center Jonas Valanciunas, acquired in a trade before the season, and incumbent wing Brandon Ingram combined for 81 points against San Antonio. Valanciunas also had 14 rebounds.
&ldquo;We have to ride those guys,&rdquo; coach Willie Green said. &ldquo;When you get to this point in the season, you&rsquo;ve got to bump their minutes up a little but more. We&rsquo;re going to run more plays that go through them and allow them to create for others, and they did a heck of a job&rdquo; against San Antonio.
GEORGE'S IMPACT
George's return to the lineup has positively impacted his teammates.
Ivica Zubac produced double-doubles in his last four regular-season games, averaging 12.3 points and 9.4 rebounds. The 7-footer has been a big factor on the defensive side as well.
Luke Kennard didn't make the trip to Minnesota because of a sore right hamstring, which he had treatment on Thursday. He leads the league in 3-point percentage at 44.9 and averaged 15.8 points in his last six games.
George has been showcasing his playmaking skills, averaging a career-high 5.7 assists. Double-teaming George hasn't been an answer for opponents since he can kick it out to Kennard and 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein, who is showing a deft touch from long range.
GREEN BLOOMS
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-nba-phoenix-suns-new-orleans-pelicans-62e8b460b8288be4cdef3fcd850304a8">Green </a> guided the Pelicans to a 36-46 record after starting 1-12 in his first season as coach. Now, he faces off against his old team for a playoff berth.
Green was a shooting guard with the Clippers from 2012-14, averaging 5.7 points while playing 16 minutes a game on a team that featured the Lob City trio of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan.
Green ended his 12-year playing career after the following season in Orlando.
He owns two NBA championships as a Golden State assistant. He was an assistant with Phoenix before taking the Pelicans job.
ROOKIE RELIANCE
The Pelicans' rookie trio of Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and Joe Alvarado passed their first postseason test, setting the stage for them to play significant roles against the Clippers as well.
Jones, a second-round pick out of Alabama, guarded Spurs All-Star Dejounte Murray and held him to 16 points on 5-of-19 shooting and five assists. He could wind up on George next.
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have doubts in Herb,&rdquo; Valanciunas said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great defensive player. He&rsquo;s always guarding the offensive threats from opponent teams."
Jones also scored 12 points, as did Alvarado, an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech. Murphy, a first-rounder out of Virginia, had a relatively quiet night but still played 22 minutes and has been an explosive scorer in recent weeks.
___
AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.

The winner between New Orleans and L.A. will earn the No. 8 seed and a first-round meeting with the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns.

Clippers looking to eke out playoff berth vs. Pelicans

New Orleans first-year coach Willie Green could have been forgiven for wondering what he had gotten himself into early this season.
Star forward Zion Williamson was injured with no clear timeline for recovery, and the Pelicans started 1-12.
Rather than foreshadowing a long year at the bottom of the Western Conference, those setbacks set the stage for New Orleans to exemplify the benefits of patience and perseverance.
Williamson still hasn't played all season, yet the Pelicans have won more games than they've lost since last Thanksgiving. They finished ninth in the Western Conference and will host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night in the first postseason game played in New Orleans since 2018.
&ldquo;We definitely have resiliency," Green said. "It&rsquo;s a continuation of trying to build our program, starting with the beginning of this season and how difficult it was to be 1-12, and be at a point where we have this opportunity in front of us.&rdquo;
While Gregg Popovich is in his 26th season as Spurs coach, is the NBA's career leader in coaching victories and has five NBA championships to his name, his road to the 2022 postseason hasn't been much different from Green's.
The Spurs won just four of their first 17 games and were 16 games below .500 after a loss at Charlotte on March 5. Since then, they've gone 10-8 to sneak into the last Western Conference play-in spot as the 10th seed.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re starting to get better and better,&rdquo; said Spurs wing player Devin Vassell, now in his second NBA season. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re growing as a team. We&rsquo;ve got a lot of young players, but we&rsquo;re all developing right now.&rdquo;
Spurs guard Dejounte Murray has made major strides, becoming a first-time All-Star and averaging 21.1 points, 9.2 assists and 8.3 rebounds this season.
Brandon Ingram has been New Orleans' most productive offensive player, averaging 22.7 points, but he has gotten some help since the Pelicans acquired guard CJ McCollum in a multiplayer deal with Portland shortly before the NBA trade deadline in February.
McCollum, averaging 24 points since the trade, wasn't around for New Orleans' early season stumbles, but was well aware of them.
&ldquo;It shows you how they stuck together, how they continued to fight through adversity, how much growth the team has had,&rdquo; McCollum said. "I&rsquo;m happy I could help get us into this position where we have a chance to get some postseason experience.&rdquo;
To make it into the first round of the NBA playoffs, the winner in New Orleans must win again on Friday night, on the road, against the Los Angeles Clippers.
PRODUCTIVE LINEUP
Some recent lineup changes have yielded compelling results for New Orleans.
The 6-foot-11 Jaxson Hayes, drafted eighth overall in 2019, was inserted into the starting lineup at power forward, and McCollum took over at point guard following his trade. When those two have started alongside center Jonas Valanciunas, Ingram and defensive-minded rookie Herb Jones, the Pelicans are 7-3.
That is the likely lineup against San Antonio. Ingram, who missed the last three regular-season games with a sore hamstring, practiced Tuesday and declared himself ready.
While various injuries have limited that lineup's sample size to 10 games, Green said the way that group plays passes the &ldquo;eye test.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It looks right. It feels right,&rdquo; Green said. "The numbers kind of solidify what we&rsquo;re seeing, and we kind of go with that.&rdquo;
PERIMETER IMPROVEMENT
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson set career highs in points (17.0), rebounding (6.1), assists (2.1) and 3-point shooting (40%) in his third NBA season.
Johnson led the Spurs in 3-pointers, going 159 for 399 after making just 73 in his first two seasons.
The long-range scoring "frankly kind of surprised us all,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not what we expected him to improve on to that degree.&rdquo;
ROOKIE TRIO
During the final weeks of the regular season, the Pelicans relied on significant contributions from three rookies.
The 6-8 Jones, a second-round pick out of Alabama, has started much of the season after demonstrating he could defend many opposing teams' top scorers.
First-round pick Trey Murphy III and undrafted rookie Jose Alvarado also have emerged during the latter portion of the season.
While Murphy has only scored 10 or more points eight times &mdash; seven of those instances came in the last 16 games, including a high of 32 points.
Alvarado seldom played prior to January, but now has 16 games with two or more steals, including a high of six. He has scored more than 10 points 12 times since Jan. 20, with a high of 23, and routinely plays meaningful minutes in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;You see the strides throughout the year, especially Trey Murphy in these last few games,&rdquo; Ingram said. &ldquo;Jose is getting more confidence shooting the basketball and Herb has been playing like a professional since he&rsquo;s been here.&rdquo;
CLOSING TIME
The Spurs say they have become more poised in late-game situations. They blew numerous fourth-quarter leads early this season, but have closed out some critical wins in recent weeks, including a 107-103 victory on March 23 in New Orleans.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve really been saying since Day One: We&rsquo;re young, we&rsquo;re still growing,&rdquo; fourth-year guard Lonnie Walker said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re starting to get used to (close games) and have that type of mindset &mdash; locked in &mdash; those final moments.&rdquo;

To make it into the first round of the NBA playoffs, the winner in New Orleans must win again on Friday night, on the road, in L.A.

Pelicans-Spurs Play-In Tournament matchup a study in resilience

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had 21 points and nine assists in his return from soreness in his right knee, Dillon Brooks scored 23 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the New Orleans Pelicans 141-114 on Saturday night to tie the 2012-13 franchise record for victories in a season at 56.
After missing nine games, Morant played almost 27 minutes as the second-seeded Grizzlies got their starting lineup back together in preparation for the postseason. They will close the regular season at home against Boston on Sunday night.
Morant had not played since he was injured in a loss at Atlanta on March 18.
&ldquo;Being out there with my team is something I&rsquo;ve been waiting on since March 19,&rdquo; Morant said, referring to the day after his injury. &ldquo;I was finally able to do that. Excited to be out there. Had a lot of fun. Just preparing for this stretch we&rsquo;re about to go on in the playoffs.&rdquo;
Brandon Clarke added 20 points for Memphis, making all 10 of his field goal attempts. Ziaire Williams had 19 points, and Desmond Bane had 18. Bane was 6 of 7 on the night, including making all four 3-point attempts. The Grizzlies shot better than 60% through three quarters. They snapped a two-game losing streak.
CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 16 points but was 6 of 17 from the field. Willy Hernangomez added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jaxson Hayes had 13 points.
&ldquo;It was a tough night. Tough night for CJ. Tough night for me. Tough night for our group,&rdquo; Pelicans coach Willie Green said.
&ldquo;It just felt like they were more ready than use,&rdquo; Hayes added. &ldquo;They came out aggressive. Got up into us and just kind of pressured us the whole game. It was hard to get anything going.&rdquo;
Trying to secure the ninth seed for the play-in tournament, the Pelicans played without scoring leader Brandon Ingram. He&rsquo;s missed his second straight game because of hamstring tightness.
Memphis dominated through the middle stages. By the end point of the third quarter, the lead had reached 39, and Memphis was shooting 64% overall and 60% from 3-point range, connecting on 15 of 25 from distance. Memphis scored a franchise-record 55 points in the third quarter, giving the Grizzlies a 119-80 lead heading into the fourth.
Memphis was 20 of 26 shooting in the third, making 7 of 10 from 3-point range and handing out 16 assists in the period alone. Pelicans coach. Green said the third quarter was a bad sign, but more of a continuation of problems for New Orleans throughout the night.
&ldquo;The whole game we could have been better,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;The third quarter was by far our worst.&rdquo;
For Memphis, which did not play well in a loss last Thursday to Denver, the performance was a return to style the Grizzlies played before the two-game losing streak. And with a full complement of starters
&ldquo;All we need to do is attention to detail, know player personnel and give effort,&rdquo; Brooks said.
GOOD DILLON THE VILLAIN
Brooks, who has been known to jaw with referees and opponents while playing his physical style of defense, seemed to play a little looser Saturday night, even smiling at times, particularly after the Grizzlies built the insurmountable lead. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to smile more so I don&rsquo;t get too upset out there and (officials) start T-ing me up,&rdquo; Brook said.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Started 0 of 7 from outside the arc. &hellip; G Devonte&rsquo; Graham did not grab a rebound and still needs one for 600 in his career. &hellip; Trey Murphy III, who leads rookies in 3-point shooting percentage at 38.4%, was 1 of 3 from outside the arc. &hellip; C Jonas Valanciunas, who was in foul trouble most of the game, was limited to six minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing only one rebound. &hellip; McCollum who was 2 for 11 midway through the third, had 10 points in the period.
Grizzlies: Entered the game second in scoring at 115.4 a game. The franchise has never finished in the top 5 in scoring. &hellip; Are 30-0 when reaching 120 points. &hellip; While setting the franchise record for points in a quarter with 55 in the third, Memphis also set franchise marks for field goals in a period (20) and assists (16).
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host Golden State on Sunday night.
Grizzlies: Host Boston on Sunday night.
&nbsp;

Ja Morant had 21 points and nine assists in his return and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the New Orleans Pelicans 141-114.

Ja Morant returns to help Grizzlies rout Pelicans, 141-114

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; CJ McCollum scored 23 points in 29 minutes against his former team and the New Orleans Pelicans moved closer to clinching a home play-in game with a 127-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
Jonas Valanciunas, who returned from a sore right ankle, scored 14 points in 21 minutes for the Pelicans, who were without leading scorer Brandon Ingram (right hamstring), but wound up not needing any starters on the floor for as many as 30 minutes against a reeling Blazers team that had a patchwork lineup and lost its ninth straight.
&ldquo;Our bench was great. They brought energy, pushed the pace," McCollum said. "From top to bottom, this was a good team win. Now we&rsquo;ve got to finish the season strong. Hopefully, we can take care of business and host the play-in game.&rdquo;
The victory, combined with San Antonio's loss at Minnesota, left New Orleans needing either one more victory or one more Spurs loss to lock up a home play-in game on Wednesday.
McCollum appeared to hurt his right hand, with which he shoots, when he we fouled and crashed to the floor in the third quarter. But after missing two free throws and a subsequent 3, he remained in game for nearly eight more minutes, hitting his fifth 3 of the game and a finger roll, before checking out for good.
Reserve center Willy Hernangomez had 17 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans. Larry Nance Jr., sent from Portland to New Orleans as part of the trade that also brought McCollum to the Pelicans, scored 12 points, as did rookie Trey Murphy III.
Reserve guard and undrafted rookie Jose Alvarado had nine assists and four steals for the Pelicans, who led by 13 at halftime and by 25 after three and widened their lead from there.
Trail Blazers coach Chauncy Billups said he suspected his players could be getting &ldquo;really fatigued&rdquo; mentally as the season winds down.
&ldquo;You see the finish line, the season is coming to an end. We&rsquo;re not playing for the playoffs,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a natural thing that happens. So we have to, as a staff, do a better job of just getting them up to play.&rdquo;
Drew Eubanks scored 20 points and CJ Elleby had 17 points for Portland, but the Blazers were sloppy with the ball and outworked around the basket. Portland committed 22 turnovers, leading to 36 Pelicans points. New Orleans also turned 23 offensive rebounds into 33 second-chance points and outrebounded the Blazers 49-27.
&ldquo;We wanted to be active on our defense ... try to cause havoc with deflections and steals,&rdquo; Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "This triggers our offensive ability to get out and play in open court. I thought our guys did a really good job.&rdquo;
McCollum had 15 points and Valanciunas 14 in the first half, when New Orleans led by as many as 15 points.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Reggie Perry scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. ... Former Pelicans Didi Louzada scored 11 points and went 3 of 4 from deep. ... Josh Hart, who was part of the McCollum trade, did not play but received a loud ovation when shown on the video board above the court. Hart smiled, put his hand on his chest, stood and waved to the crowd. ... Shot 52.2% (36 of 69), including 11 of 31 from 3-point range.
Pelicans: While Ingram was a late scratch with a recurring hamstring injury, Green downplayed the seriousness of the injury. &ldquo;We just don&rsquo;t want to risk putting him on the floor and he&rsquo;s feeling sore,&rdquo; Green said. "We don&rsquo;t anticipate he&rsquo;ll miss a play-in game or anything like that. He&rsquo;s just not going tonight.&rdquo; ... Jaxson Hayes highlighted his 11-point night with several authoritative dunks. ... Rookie Herb Jones had nine points and eight rebounds, highlight by his block of what looked like either a lob or long shot by Keon Johnson. Jones raced into the Portland back court to grab the loose ball and finished with a breakaway layup.
ZION UPDATE
Green said before tipoff that Williamson, who has not played or even fully practiced this season as he recovers from an offseason foot injury, is now doing some &ldquo;controlled&rdquo; five-on-five work.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing against the coaches and some of our guys will jump in," Green explained. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing in a controlled scrimmage and that&rsquo;s where he&rsquo;s progressed to. Past that, there&rsquo;s no update on him.&rdquo;
The Pelicans have not officially ruled out Williamson for the season, but have not offered any indication that he'll play any time soon, either. New Orleans has two regular season games left and must win two play-in games to advance to the NBA playoffs.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Visit Dallas on Friday night for their final road game of the season.
Pelicans: Visit Memphis on Saturday for their road finale.
&nbsp;

CJ McCollum scored 23 points and the Pelicans moved closer to clinching a home play-in game with a 127-94 victory over Portland.

CJ McCollum scores 23 points, Pelicans beat Blazers 127-94

CJ McCollum and Jaxson Hayes each scored 23 points and the New Orleans Pelicans clinched a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament, beating the Sacramento Kings 123-109 on Tuesday night.
Brandon Ingram added 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Pelicans (35-44), who never trailed. New Orleans has won four of five.
Damian Jones had 22 points for Sacramento. The Kings, who were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday for an NBA-record 16th consecutive season, trailed by three at halftime but couldn&rsquo;t keep up when the Pelicans went on a shooting streak in the second half.
New Orleans led by three at halftime, then pulled away with seven 3s in the third quarter &ndash; one by five different players and two from Trey Murphy III.
Sacramento got within 105-99 in the fourth quarter before McCollum scored down low and Ingram followed with two free throws.
That helped the Pelicans inch closer to returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18, when they were coached by Alvin Gentry &ndash; currently the Kings interim coach. New Orleans has stayed in the hunt this season despite being without star forward Zion Williamson, who hasn&rsquo;t played since fracturing his right foot and undergoing surgery in the offseason.
The Pelicans were also missing Jonas Valanciunas (right ankle soreness) against the Kings but it hardly mattered. New Orleans held a 44-36 rebounding advantage and outscored Sacramento in the paint 58-44.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: New Orleans shot 9 of 15 on 3s in the second half.
Kings: Jones made six of his first seven shots and scored 15 points before halftime. &hellip; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox (wrist) and Domantas Sabonis (left knee) remain out.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Travel to face the Trail Blazers on Thursday. New Orleans has won both games against Portland this season.
Kings: Play the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The Pelicans clinched a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament, beating the Kings 123-109 on Tuesday night.

Pelicans beat Kings 123-109, clinch Play-In spot in West

Marcus Morris Sr. scored 22 points, Ivica Zubac got his 22nd double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers prevented the New Orleans Pelicans from clinching a spot in the play-in tournament with a 119-100 victory Sunday night.
While the Pelicans are still fighting for their play-in spot, the Clippers (39-40) wrapped up the eighth seed with the win.
&ldquo;I thought we addressed what we needed to. We took care of business,&rdquo; said Paul George, who had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in his third game back for the Clippers. &ldquo;I challenged the team first game back to shape into more of a playoff team. Overall, we&rsquo;re starting to."
Morris made four 3-pointers for the Clippers, who were 21 of 44 from beyond the arc. It is the first time in franchise history they have made at least 20 in back-to-back games. Los Angeles made 23 3s and set a franchise record for points in a 153-119 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night.
Eight players made a 3-pointer for the Clippers. George led the way with five while Luke Kennard Jr. also had four.
The Clippers, winners of three of their last four games, made all eight of their shots from the perimeter in the first quarter. According to Sportradar, it is the first time since at least 1996 Los Angeles has had a perfect quarter with seven or more attempts.
&ldquo;When we&rsquo;re touching the paint and guys are attacking the basket, we&rsquo;re going to get open 3s and shots if guys make the right play. We did that all night long,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said.
CJ McCollum had 19 points and Brandon Ingram added 15 for the Pelicans, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. New Orleans could have wrapped up a play-in tournament berth with a win after Denver defeated the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the day.
The Pelicans, who began the season 3-16, can secure a play-in spot with a win over Sacramento on Tuesday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy this was tonight so we can have urgency in the next three or four games,&rdquo; Ingram said.
The Clippers trailed 25-21 before going on a 32-8 run over a nine-minute span to take control. The spurt included six 3-pointers.
&ldquo;We just didn&rsquo;t make the game as tough as we needed to,&rdquo; Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "You can tell that they were prepared and they came in and they had maybe half a step faster than we were in terms of the force they played with.&rdquo;
RAMPING UP
George had 12 points and four assists in the first quarter, but was mostly quiet the rest of the game. He played only 29 minutes in a game that was largely over by halftime.
The Clippers have three regular-season games remaining until the play-in tournament. Lue said trying to get George back into rhythm is a key focus for the upcoming week after he missed 43 games due to an elbow injury.
&ldquo;Put the ball in his hands so he can make plays. It&rsquo;s going to be important that he does this for us down the stretch," Lue said. "Tonight, I thought he looked a little tired. It&rsquo;s the first time I&rsquo;ve seen it that he looked a little fatigued to me. Just continue to make plays. I think he had seven assists in the first half. Just try to build his minutes up slowly.&rdquo;
TIP INS
Pelicans: Jaxson Hayes had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. ... Herbert Jones had 13 points, while Larry Nance Jr. and Trey Murphy III had 10 apiece. ... Jonas Valanciunas grabbed nine rebounds.
Clippers: Terance Mann also had 15 points. .... Luke Kennard added 14 points. ... Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. ... Reggie Jackson had 11 points and 10 assists. Zubac reached 300 career blocks late in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Conclude their four-game road trip against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
Clippers: Host the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. The Suns have won two of the three meetings.

Marcus Morris Sr. scored 22 points and Ivica Zubac got his 22nd double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Clippers prevent Pelicans from clinching Play-In spot

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Brandon Ingram scored 26 in his return from a 10-game absence, and the New Orleans Pelicans rallied from 23 points down late in the second quarter to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-108 on Sunday night in a game with postseason implications for both clubs.
New Orleans got an enormous boost from rookies Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Murphy, drafted 17th overall, scored all of his 21 points in the second half. Jones, a second-round draft choice, had 16 points and a career-high six steals.
LeBron James hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 39 points, but hit just two of eight shots in the fourth quarter for four points, missing three times from deep after hitting seven of his first 10 from 3-point distance.
The victory lifted the Pelicans (32-43) a half-game ahead of the Lakers (31-43) for the ninth seed &mdash; and the first of two play-in spots &mdash; in the Western Conference.
Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 12 rebounds, including a clutch jump-hook with a minute left for the Pelicans. And CJ McCollum finished off his 18-point performance with a floater to make it 115-108 with a half-minute to go.
Malik Monk scored 23 points, repeatedly finding ways to convert contested shots near the rim, but missed a 3 in the final minute. Russell Westbrook scored 18 points and Dwight Howard grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lakers.
Trailing by 20 at halftime, the Pelicans stormed back into the game by outscoring the Lakers 41-25 in the third quarter, when Murphy scored 16 of his points. Murphy hit three 3s during the surge and also threw down a put-back dunk with two hands.
Murphy's right wing 3 and driving finger roll as he was fouled in succession cut the Lakers' lead to 90-88, and Los Angeles carried just a four-point lead into the fourth.
James scored a quick 10 points, including two 3s, in the first three minutes and the Lakers led 12-0 before McCollum hit a short jumper with nearly four minutes into the game.
James' sixth 3 &mdash; from 27 feet &mdash; gave him 23 points with about four minutes left in the second quarter and gave the Lakers a 60-40 lead.
The Lakers led by as many as 23 when Westbrook's layup made it 65-42 before New Orleans closed the gap to 20 by halftime at 69-49.
TIP-INS
Lakers: James now has 30 30-point games this season. ... The Lakers shot 52.5% overall (42 of 80) but missed six of 16 free throws. ... Went 1 of 11 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter after going 13 of 24 in the first three periods.
Pelicans: Larry Nance Jr. was rested after playing his first two games since early January on Thursday and Saturday nights. ... Outrebounded the Lakers 41-39. ... Hit 19 of 24 free throws.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Visit Dallas on Tuesday night in the second of three straight on the road.
Pelicans: Visit Portland on Wednesday to open a four-game West Coast trip.
&nbsp;

Brandon Ingram scored 26 and the New Orleans Pelicans rallied from 23 points down to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-108.

Ingram scores 26 in return, Pelicans top Lakers 116-108

Isaiah Thomas is back.
Well, not&nbsp;back &mdash;&nbsp;this isn't the 2016-17 campaign in which Thomas carried a Boston Celtics offense to the tune of 28.9 points (on 62.5% True Shooting) and 5.9 assists per game. But Thomas has found a home for the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/charlotte-to-sign-isaiah-thomas-for-the-rest-of-the-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rest of the season</a>, providing the currently-streaking Charlotte Hornets with a nice boost of offense.
Since joining the team three weeks ago, Thomas is averaging a shade under 10 points while draining 48.0% of his threes (3.6 attempts). During the Hornets' five-game winning streak, Thomas is averaging 10.8 points in 14 minutes per contest thanks to some insane shooting from deep (58.8% on 3.4 attempts).
Much like his peak days, Thomas is getting busy in the pick-and-roll.
He remains a pull-up threat, making any sort of "under" coverage nearly untenable. While not as bursty as he used to be, he's able to attack gaps and flow into floaters and push shots. His shot diet has altered since his last full-ish season with the Washington Wizards in 2019-20, with more of his shots coming at the rim or floater range (43% vs 34%) per Cleaning The Glass.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/9saino" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The Hornets have scored 1.16 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Thomas-led pick-and-roll, per Second Spectrum. That number rises to 1.3 on trips where Thomas and Montrezl Harrell &mdash; a violent rim-runner with an intermediate touch he can use when the rim is cut off &mdash; team up.
That two-man game is the bedrock of Charlotte's second unit, with built-in secondary options if an advantage isn't created.
A favorite as of late: a high ball-screen with Thomas and Harrell that flows into an empty corner handoff.
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</div>
Think about the options here. A switch would have Willy Hernangomez on an island against Thomas, and Jose Alvarado (fiesty!) on Harrell. Neither would be great options. Playing drop coverage would likely give Thomas a gap to pull-up into, though Alvarado is a stout on-ball defender that could make Thomas uncomfortable.&nbsp;
They instead opt to blitz, taking the ball out of Thomas' hands. But taking the ball out of his hands simply means putting it into the hands of LaMelo Ball, the Hornets' best player.&nbsp;
Giving LaMelo a roller like Harrell is a tough proposition; doing so with an empty side puts the defense in a bind like this:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_03_22_18_03_03_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
Alvarado peels over to the nail to cut off Ball's drive, but that leaves Thomas open for a catch-and-shoot opportunity. Harrell, of course, is rolling into the empty side with no help present. On the weak side, PJ Washington is in prime position to screen off his man (Naji Marshall, No. 8) or Kelly Oubre's man (Trey Murphy III, No. 25) to create a shot.&nbsp;
The Hornets don't just flow into handoffs after Thomas-led ball-screens; they can pivot to off-ball screens for shooters as well.
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This is nice movement set to get Terry Rozier a look. Jalen Brunson does a great job of staying attached, so it simply flows into a downhill attack with Mason Plumlee filling the lane.
Dwight Powell dropped back pretty far on the initial ball-screen, which ends up giving Rozier a runway to drive into. With Miles Bridges chilling in the left corner, Maxi Kleber is stuck between tagging Plumlee on the roll, or staying home on the shooter.&nbsp;
Having a threat like Thomas is incredibly annoying for defenses.
It's especially annoying when he's the first layer of a multi-pronged attack.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down the ways Isaiah Thomas is impacting the Hornets' offense.

Explain one play: Isaiah Thomas as the Hornets' tip of the spear

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker had 27 points and eight assists in 30 minutes before Phoenix coach Monty Williams gave him the rest of the night off, and the Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 131-115 on Tuesday night.
Mikal Bridges went 4 of 5 from deep and scored 20 for the Suns, whose accurate shooting and ability to capitalize on virtually every Pelicans mistake helped them secure their fourth victory in five games despite star guard Chris Paul's extended absence with his fractured right thumb.
The Suns shot 53% (18 of 34) from 3-point range and converted 17 Pelicans turnovers into 33 points.
Reserve center JaVale McGee scored 19 and Deandre Ayton added 18 for Phoenix, which shot 55% (49 of 89) overall.
Herb Jones scored 22 for the Pelicans, who've lost five of six as they try to hang on to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. Guard CJ McCollum returned from a two-game absence while in health and safety protocols and scored 21 points, but also committed five turnovers. Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Pelicans were as close as 75-74 in the middle of the third quarter, but committed a turnover when they had a chance to take the lead and the Suns proceeded to take over, starting with Ayton's layup and followed soon after by Cameron Payne's 25-foot transition 3.
Booker scored the final six points of the period, starting with a pull-up jumper as he was fouled by Jose Alvarado. He added a transition 3 from 26 feet to give the Suns a 98-85 lead heading to the fourth.
New Orleans could not muster another surge in the fourth quarter, when the Suns pulled away by as many as 23 points.
The Pelicans led 34-33 early in the second quarter when the Suns surged into the lead with a 7-0 run ignited by Bridges' 3.
Booker hit 3s on consecutive possessions and then set up put Bridges' right corner 3 that put the Suns up 57-43.
New Orleans rallied with a 14-2 surge during which Jones and Valanciunas each scored six points including put-back dunks by both players. But with the crowd re-engaged, Phoenix turned an offensive rebound into a 3 by Jae Crowder to stunt New Orleans' momentum.
Payne added a 3 and Ayton found bridges on a baseline cut for a reverse layup that made it 67-59 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Suns: Made all 15 of their free throws. ... Payne, who has been starting in place of Paul, scored 14 points and had eight assists. ... Torrey Craig scored 11 points. ... Reserves combined for 43 points. ... Shot 62% (13 of 21) in the first quarter and 61% from 3-point range (11 of 18) in the first half.
Pelicans: Jaxson Hayes scored 16 points, Trey Murhpy II scored 11 points, and Devonte' Graham and Willy Hernangomez each scored 10. ... Allowed 30 points in the first quarter for the sixth straight game. ... Shot 50% (43 of 86) overall but 35% (12 of 34) from 3-point range. ... Missed seven of 24 free throws. ... Scored 13 points off of nine Suns turnovers. ... Went 1-3 during a four-game home stand.
UP NEXT
Suns: Visit Houston on Wednesday night to wrap up a two-game trip.
Pelicans: Open a three-game road trip at San Antonio on Friday night.

Devin Booker had 27 points and eight assists as the Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 131-115.

Booker scores 27 in 30 minutes, Suns sink Pelicans, 131-115

At 17 years old, Scoot Henderson is making history. Spencer Davies spoke with the prodigy and those close to him to find out how.

NBA G League star Scoot Henderson's aspirations far exceed the hype

Admittedly, it feels stupid to talk about trades right now amid the postponements caused by the Decepticon Variant, but so long as the season rages on &mdash; whether or not it should be is another conversation, one the NBA probably knows the answer to because of recent cancellations &mdash; I guess we&rsquo;ll keep talking about basketball.
Well, let&rsquo;s give this a shot, and hopefully, it&rsquo;ll provide a boost to your day...
We&rsquo;re gonna play Stay or Trade, which goes as it sounds, and it will involve four noteworthy guys who are now available to be dealt following Dec. 15. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-case-against-and-for-trading-will-barton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I wrote about one of them already</a>, so no Will Barton talk today. Let's proceed with who we will discuss. 
Dennis Schr&ouml;der, Boston Celtics &mdash; $5.9 million expiring
Disregarding that even ESPN is using eyeball emojis in their YouTube video titles, Bobby Marks <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVL-QTZvdAQ">says he expects Schr&ouml;der to be traded</a>. On the most recent episode of The Dunker Spot, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-65-bring-i-t-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Jones Jr. and Nekias Duncan discussed Boston's needs</a>&nbsp;as part of their mailbag segment.&nbsp;
Schr&ouml;der was&nbsp;famously a mini-mid level signing&nbsp;after passing on a reported $84 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers,&nbsp;allegedly desiring for north of $100 million. At least he <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CT2ibrTsWAK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=b9fddcbe-5a95-4f46-ab7e-d7494deca917" target="_blank" rel="noopener">let y&rsquo;all cook him for it</a>.&nbsp;
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The fit with the Celtics has been productive, but it&rsquo;s looking increasingly likely that it&rsquo;ll be short-term. Schr&ouml;der&rsquo;s producing and, as of now, is in line to recoup some&nbsp;of the money he reportedly turned down. Currently, he&rsquo;s averaging 17.1 points and 4.8 assists per game on 44/34/89 shooting splits, roughly on par with where he&rsquo;s been since his fourth season (2016-17). As Marks outlined, all signs point to him being on the move, and the Celtics, in theory, selling high.
Schr&ouml;der&rsquo;s $5.9 million could combine with, say, Josh Richardson&rsquo;s $11.6 million. For now, leave that to the side. Juancho Hernang&oacute;mez and his $7 million are sitting there, and he's averaging just 4.2 minutes per contest with another $7.5 million to come next year. If you pair him and Schr&ouml;der with Romeo Langford's $3.8 million, you&rsquo;re at about $17 million combined. 
From there, throw in however many draft picks it takes. Use those three contracts and your draft capital, and do what you can to convince the Toronto Raptors to bring in Fred VanVleet. Two unprotected first-rounders, at least; unless you make it Schr&ouml;der and Marcus Smart. Though, that would have to wait until the latter&rsquo;s restriction is lifted after Jan. 25. (None of this has to happen immediately, anyway.)
But if I&rsquo;m Toronto, I&rsquo;m mostly telling Boston to headbutt Trey Murphy&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a href="https://twitter.com/_Andrew_Lopez/status/1472321597415563265">dry ass chicken sandwich</a>,&rdquo; and get the f&mdash;outta here. Worth a shot if you&rsquo;re the Celtics, though.&nbsp;
Verdict: Trade 
Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks &mdash; $21 million 
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Hardaway's production is declining like his contract right now.
So far, through 28 appearances, he&rsquo;s at 14.4 points per game on 38/33/74 shooting splits. It&rsquo;s his worst scoring output since 2016-17 and among the worst splits of his career. His contract is outlined as follows, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardati02.html">per Basketball-Reference</a>:
2021-22: $21.3 million
2022-23: $19.6 million
2023-24: $17.9 million
2024-25: $16.2 million
We&rsquo;ve always said the same two things about the Mavs for at least two years now. The first is the constant questioning of Luka Dončić&rsquo;s fit next to Kristaps Porziņģis. The second is: How could the Mavericks get adequate shot-creation next to Luka?
Hardaway Jr.&rsquo;s contract would be a burden to move, but none of us expect him to finish all four years in Dallas, do we? We&rsquo;re just anticipating it&rsquo;ll be increasingly difficult to deal him in Year 1 of the contract.
Verdict: Stay (for now)
Kemba Walker, New York Knicks &mdash; $8.7 million
After being removed from the rotation, Kemba Walker returned on Saturday night well-rested against his former Celtics, netting a season-high 29 points while hitting 5 of 11 shots from three and converting 8 of 12 free throws. The 13-17 Knicks are 10-9 in games Walker plays this season, and were 2-8 following his benching. Their defense has taken a step back, and Walker&rsquo;s been partially to blame. Still, he was effectively scapegoated for a team-wide issue. Now, he&rsquo;s playing again because of a COVID outbreak in the organization that primarily hampered their depth at guard.
Walker&rsquo;s averages are at 12.6 points and 3.1 assists in 25.2 minutes per contest. The minutes and assists are the lowest of his career, and his scoring is only second to his rookie season of 2011-12. His 112 Offensive Rating is actually on par with where he&rsquo;s been since 2015-16, his breakout offensive season. His defense, well, is about what you&rsquo;d expect. But, for where the Knicks are, he can still be productive offensively and gives them their best shot-creator at the point guard position since... Raymond Felton?!?
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Walker is due $9.2 million next season, making him a trade candidate. But seeing as how the Knicks still might need him in some regard, honestly, they should just keep him around at this time. We&rsquo;ll reevaluate the situation next month or something.
Verdict: Stay (for now)
Kelly Olynyk, Detroit Pistons &mdash; $12.2 million
Kelly Olynyk is up to 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds (and 2.3 assists) on 46/34/60 splits. Olynyk is a nice player, and is apparently already being <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-ben-simmons-trade-rumors-james-harden-jerami-grant-20211118.html?utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_campaign=edit_social_share_twitter_traffic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=&amp;int_promo=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thrown around in trade rumors</a>. Olynyk may or may not get attached in a trade to Jerami Grant&rsquo;s deal, but the Canadian 7-footer is bringing home $12.8 million next season and $12.1 million in 2023-24, so his deal is long-term in this climate.
Combining him with Grant puts you at $32 million of incoming salary. That&rsquo;s the Porziņģis, CJ McCollum, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Ben Simmons, K&mdash;sigh, Kyrie Irving, territory financially. None of that sounds entirely realistic except maybe Simmons since it was at least credibly reported as a possibility.&nbsp;
Otherwise, you&rsquo;re looking at sending Olynyk to a big-needy, playoff-worthy team, who probably wouldn&rsquo;t want a long-term commitment right now. This will probably be an easier process next season, save for adding to a Grant deal, but if you can make one, why not?&nbsp;
Verdict: Trade if you can, but not by himself

Bryan Fonseca looks at four veterans who are trade-eligible and debates whether or not their teams should deal them away.

Stay or Trade: Pondering the fate of 4 eligible veteran candidates

As NBA players, guys might not be the most savvy when it comes to the salary cap and some of those things, but one date that everyone has circled on their calendars is Dec. 15.
That&rsquo;s the day when trade season officially begins.&nbsp;
Depending on your specific situation, you&rsquo;re either looking forward to the day or nervous about it. The established superstars know that some of their teammates could be shipped out, while non-superstar players know they could be packing their bags.
Either way, you have that date circled.
Trades are a part of life in the NBA. As we hear all the time, it&rsquo;s a business. As players, we always understood that there was a bit of a double-standard when it came down to it, though. Teams can trade you whenever they want, but as a player, if you make a trade request, people want to say that you&rsquo;re spoiled or entitled or that you&rsquo;re a quitter, things like that.
Sometimes, though, there are valid reasons to request a trade; I know I had my reasons when I asked the Indiana Pacers to trade me back in 2011. They didn&rsquo;t, and I believe it indirectly ended my playing career.
After my time in Boston came to an end, I signed with New Orleans. They were an up-and-coming team led by Chris Paul and David West &mdash; two players I had existing relationships with. I thought I could help get them to the next level, much in the way I helped in Miami and Boston.&nbsp;
At that time, CP was playing at an MVP level, but the Western Conference was no joke. We got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs my first season there, and didn&rsquo;t even make the playoffs my second season. CP missed 37 games the second year, though, which explains that.
Winning those 37 games should&rsquo;ve probably been considered an accomplishment, to be honest with you, and there&rsquo;s no way we would&rsquo;ve done it without Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton. They both established themselves as good young players in the league, but that meant other teams wanted them. Next thing I knew, I was being traded to Indiana with Darren. I was kinda caught in the middle, and that&rsquo;s the part of trades that most fans and outsiders can&rsquo;t really understand.
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A big part of the reason I signed with New Orleans was because of my preexisting relationships with CP and West. I wouldn&rsquo;t really say that the organization recruited me, so to speak, but I also signed there because of the role that I understood I would have. To players, it&rsquo;s not always only about the contract; a lot of the times, it&rsquo;s also about the role and the fit.&nbsp;
But in a really short period of time, New Orleans decided they wanted to try something different, and the deal that came together was one that got them Trevor Ariza. They ended up doing a four-team trade with the Rockets, Pacers and Nets. Indiana sent Troy Murphy out in the deal, and got Darren and me back.&nbsp;
I wouldn&rsquo;t say that Indy didn&rsquo;t want me or value me, but they really made the deal because of Darren. So I packed my bags again.
I wasn&rsquo;t happy leaving New Orleans, obviously, but I was able to embrace going to Indy for many of the same reasons I did New Orleans. They were a young team trying to find their way and they had some young players I enjoyed being around. T.J. Ford and I are good friends to this day, and I had an opportunity to see a young Paul George develop some of the habits that turned him into a superstar.&nbsp;
But man, things changed for me, and fast.
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Our coach, Jim O&rsquo;Brien, was fired after 44 games and one of his young assistants &mdash; a guy named Frank Vogel &mdash; took over.
The organization&rsquo;s leadership decided they wanted to focus on developing the team&rsquo;s younger players and I, at 34 years old, didn&rsquo;t really fit in with their long-term plans. I went from playing 20 minutes a game to not dressing, and I was perfectly healthy and still felt like I could make a difference. It hurt.
I&rsquo;ll never forget the conversation I had with Coach Vogel when he told me that I wasn&rsquo;t going to be playing. We were in New Jersey getting ready to play the Nets, and coach straight up told me that I wasn&rsquo;t going to be playing at all.
&ldquo;Like, you mean NOOOOO minutes?&rdquo; I remember asking him.
&ldquo;Like, none at all?&rdquo;
Sadly, the answer was no!
He offered me the opportunity to sit in on the coach&rsquo;s meetings to try to absorb some of his staff&rsquo;s knowledge, but truth of the matter is that I still wanted to play. I knew I could still make a difference.
So I asked for a trade.
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I was a 34-year-old champion who still had a lot left to offer, but I was on a team that was just at a different place in its developmental cycle. It wasn&rsquo;t a fit, and that happens to a lot of veteran players in the NBA.
Coach Vogel and I had that conversation on Feb. 6, 2011, and it turns out that the trade deadline was on Feb. 24. They didn&rsquo;t have the time to find a trade, I guess, so I sat on the bench, mostly in street clothes. I watched as our team got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and next thing we all knew, the 2011 lockout happened.
Once the lockout ended, Indy waived me using the one-time &ldquo;amnesty&rdquo; right they got under the new collective bargaining agreement. I wasn&rsquo;t too enthused about signing with a new team and having to move during a lockout-shortened season. Remember, the 2011-12 season was only 66 games, and they were crammed into a shortened period of time.
To be honest, though, by the time the 2012-13 season was beginning, I hadn&rsquo;t gotten the kind of offer I was looking for. Some teams offered me 10-day contracts, which wasn&rsquo;t something I was willing to accept.
And just like that, my playing career was over.
It felt like one minute I was being courted by New Orleans and having an opportunity to join a young MVP-caliber player, and the next minute, I&rsquo;m being told by Frank Vogel that I&rsquo;m not going to play anymore.&nbsp;
It happens fast, and it happens to the best of us, and that&rsquo;s why players have to take their careers into their own hands when they have the opportunity to.
If KG, LeBron and KD never left the Timberwolves, Cavaliers or Thunder, there&rsquo;s no guarantee they would&rsquo;ve ever been able to win a championship. Right now, Damian Lillard is facing a similar situation. Ben Simmons decided that it&rsquo;s time for him to go.
When I began thinking about it recently and look back at my situation in Indy, I only wonder what could&rsquo;ve been if I&rsquo;d requested a trade sooner. Who knows, if I would&rsquo;ve asked earlier, maybe I would&rsquo;ve landed in a better situation. Maybe my playing career wouldn&rsquo;t have ended the way it did.
I never told that story before, but today, on Dec. 15 &mdash; when NBA trade season officially begins &mdash; it seemed appropriate.

As NBA trade deadline season begins, James Posey recalls how an unfulfilled trade request indirectly helped end his career.

How not getting traded by the Pacers pushed me into retirement

Every year, there are a handful of upperclassmen who set themselves apart as NBA prospects. Some are older in age, while others are four-to-five-year players.
In the last few seasons, we&rsquo;ve seen players such as Desmond Bane, Malachi Flynn, Chris Duarte, Corey Kispert, and Trey Murphy III really come into their own late in their careers. This season, we are witnessing Kansas senior Ochai Agbaji do the same.
He entered the 2021-22 season with hopes of being the top senior prospect in the class, and has earned that distinction thus far. Agbaji is currently averaging 22.6 points per game while shooting 45.8% from deep on 6.0 attempts per game. Before the year began, my notes on Agbaji read:
&ldquo;Early on in his career, he was known for his athleticism and defense, but his lack of outside shooting was concerning. He has shown substantial improvement since then, and connected on 37.7% of his three-point attempts last year while shooting 6.9 triples per game. With continued shooting consistency and strong on-ball defense, Agbaji could solidify himself as a viable 3-and-D option at the NBA level.&rdquo;
Needless to say, he has far surpassed my expectations through the Jayhawks&rsquo; first eight games of 2021.
First, let&rsquo;s dive into the numbers. For many players, as usage rises, the efficiency drops. However, Agbaji has not seen this happen. His usage rate of 25.9% is the highest of his career. Meanwhile, he is currently posting career-high averages in points (22.6), two-point percentage (64.9%), three-point percentage (45.8%), free-throw percentage (76.0%), True Shooting (67.6%) and Effective Field Goal (66.4%) percentages &mdash; and career-lows with 1.0 turnovers and 1.1. personal fouls per game.
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What has impressed me the most is his versatility on offense. He is scoring out of the pick-and-roll, isolation and off the move, making him incredibly difficult to stop. He currently ranks in the 95th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball handler. While running the offense likely won&rsquo;t be his role in the NBA, his ability and willingness to do so in a secondary capacity is valuable. He also ranks 95th percentile in transition and in the 98th percentile as a finisher around the basket, which speaks to his combination of athleticism and touch.&nbsp;
His three-point shooting is what stands out the most. His mechanics are smooth, his release is really quick and he wastes little movement. Agbaji continues to hit tough shots off the dribble, at a standstill and with movement as well, truly rounding him out as one of the premier scorers in the country.
Ochai Agbaji is currently No. 32 on BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>, but something tells me he won&rsquo;t be there long.&nbsp;

Derek Murray breaks down the jump he's seen from Ochai Agbaji as a senior in his first eight games with Kansas.