NEW ORLEANS – It’s been an ongoing process for New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green.
Over the past decade, the approach to creating quality offense has evolved dramatically across the NBA. Green said that shots he once viewed as “bailing the defense out” are now the shots teams are actively seeking more than ever.
Some coaches can’t help but cringe after 3-pointers early in the shot clock or over a tight contest from a defender, but the entire league is looking for ways to increase the volume of looks from beyond the arc. As offensive efficiency has skyrocketed everywhere, a big part of that success has been tied to teams re-evaluating what a “good shot” looks like.
“I’m growing offensively (to accept) that those are good shots for us,” Green said. “Just becoming more comfortable with knowing those are great looks for us … having our guys prepared to take those shots and take them with confidence. And for myself, from the sideline, when they miss a couple, I’ve got to still be OK with that.”
On the first day of training camp, Green told his team that it was time for everyone in the building to reassess how they utilized the 3-point line. He wrote a giant “40” on a whiteboard to signify the number of 3-point attempts he’s pushing them to average this season. Since then, the coaching staff has consistently emphasized getting more 3s up.
During Green’s tenure, the Pelicans have finished 24th, 29th and 24th in 3-point attempts during the last three seasons. With such a paint-dominant scorer like Zion Williamson leading the offense, the Pelicans have to find more ways to punish defenses that try to keep multiple bodies close to the basket.
“The message has been pretty clear to get up at least 40 (3s) a game,” Williamson said on Monday. “That means we’ve got to play with pace. … In the grand scheme of things, it’s definitely going to be a positive for us.”
During the Pelicans’ 106-104 victory over Orlando in their preseason debut on Monday, the increased emphasis on 3-pointers was apparent while the starters were on the floor during the first half. Before halftime, New Orleans took 20 of its 49 field-goal attempts from beyond the arc, and despite only four of those attempts going in, the offense flowed relatively well.
There’s still a lot to learn about how the offense will function with this new approach once all the key players are back together on the floor. New Orleans will be without Trey Murphy — arguably the most dangerous spot-up shooter on the team — for the next few weeks as he recovers from a right hamstring strain. Star forward Brandon Ingram also sat out of Monday’s win. However, whenever he does return to the lineup, there will be a lot of attention on how much he eliminates his patented mid-range jumpers in favor of those 3-point attempts the coaching staff is looking for.
Either way, let’s look at some of the ways the starting unit created their 3s in the first half on Monday and how that applies to what New Orleans wants to do this season:
Five out
Regardless of how much the Pelicans plan on leaning on small-ball lineups this season, there will be a noticeable difference in how much they emphasize keeping the floor spaced during halfcourt possessions by keeping all five of their players on the perimeter.
The Pelicans tried to run some five-out offense the past few seasons, but it’s difficult to maintain those principles with a starting center like Jonas Valančiūnas, who is most effective playing close to the basket.
Whether the Pelicans go into opening night this season with Daniel Theis at center or more of a wing-heavy lineup, the spacing should be much improved when the game slows down. This will make it even more difficult for opposing defenses to slow down Williamson, who looked about as good as he ever has in a preseason game while putting up 16 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes on Monday.
“It’s going to help me a lot just in the sense that there’s an option everywhere,” Williamson said. “Last year, we had options. But how we ran our offense, we didn’t have as many options. We have more options now, and that’s just going to open up my game.”
While Williamson’s constant downhill pressure breaks most defenses he goes against, he’ll have to continue his evolution as a complete offensive weapon to unlock this offense. In particular, his growth as a passer may be what ultimately takes this offense to the next level.
There were some early glimpses of how easily he can slice defenses up in Monday’s win as he opened the game with three consecutive assists. He found Herb Jones twice in the corner for open jumpers and he made a nice drop-off pass to Theis, which led to a layup.
The Pelicans were 21-6 when Williamson had 6-plus assists last season. This offense will continue to grow as he learns how to manipulate defenses and create those open looks. The more he does it, the more New Orleans should be able to step into easy 3-point shots.
Transition 3s
As fascinating as it’ll be to see how New Orleans can function with a different approach during half-court possessions and a new point guard — Dejounte Murray — running the show, this team knows where it is most effective. When the Pelicans are running out in transition, they become one of the most dangerous teams in the league. Williamson, Murphy and Jones are some of the most effective transition scorers in the league. But as a whole, the Pelicans will be looking to create more 3-pointers early in the clock. They were 17th in transition 3-pointers last season, per Synergy. They’re hoping this will be one of the areas where Murray can help them immediately.
Because he is such an effective rebounder at the point guard position, the coaching staff has been urging Murray to grab defensive boards and immediately run out to put pressure on defenses. They’ll have to choose between slowing Murray down or allowing guys like CJ McCollum, Murphy, Jones and Jordan Hawkins to run into open 3s on the wing.
These are some of the most efficient looks any team can create, and it’s an easy way for Murray to put his imprint on the game without dominating the ball. Last season, New Orleans was much more effective from the 3-point line when the game slowed down. That may be an area where the lack of a true point guard on the roster came back to hurt them.
It’ll be crucial for Murray not only to focus on creating those transition opportunities but to also trust his teammates and be willing to get off the ball early in possessions — much like he did in the clip above. In general, considering all the weapons he has around him, the more Murray is pounding the ball, the less effective he’ll be as the floor general this team needs.
CJ picking up where he left off
Along with all the transition 3s that should be available, the Pelicans will need McCollum to continue his evolution as an offensive weapon.
According to Cleaning The Glass, 50 percent of McCollum’s field-goal attempts came on 3-pointers last season — by far the highest number of his career. McCollum learned to be more effective as an off-ball scorer, and he turned into one of the most productive 3-point shooters in the NBA last season.
Now, with Murray in the equation, McCollum should get even more good looks from the outside. Much like Murray, he also has to understand that the more efficient he is with his dribbles, the better it’ll be for the entire offense. But when he does decide to get into his isolation bag, he’s worked on using his moves to generate shots from deep rather than long twos.
In general, this team will be most dangerous when McCollum’s style of play leans more toward Klay Thompson and less toward Kyrie Irving.
Hawk breakout
With Murphy likely sidelined for the start of the regular season, second-year guard Hawkins should have an excellent opportunity to solidify his spot in the rotation and add to everything New Orleans is doing to evolve on offense.
Hawkins entered the league last year and immediately proved how capable he is as a shooter. However, what sets him apart is how comfortable he is knocking down shots when he’s standing still or when he’s running around at 100 miles per hour.
Without Murphy early in the season as the primary source of scoring on the second unit, the Pelicans will run more offense through Hawkins and lean on him to be the spark plug when things get stagnant. Some parts of the fan base would say an extended run for him was long overdue, but Hawkins’ effectiveness in this role will play a big role in the overall success in the offense early in the year.
“He’s got the green light. If you see daylight, let it go,” Green said of his message to the Hawkins. “We all trust that he’ll make good decisions.”
Green’s playbook has expanded as he’s grown more comfortable with Hawkins, and the coaching staff is always looking for new ways to get him on the move so he can either create an open shot for himself or draw a reaction from the defense that opens up opportunities for his teammates.
Hawkins scored a game-high 18 points in Monday’s win despite missing some easy looks from the outside. Throughout training camp, members of the coaching staff raved about Hawkins’ maturation going into Year 2 and the work he’s done to improve some of the weaknesses in his game.
If he can continue this upward trajectory and make a jump during his sophomore season, the Pelicans could potentially have one of the most explosive shooting trios in the league with McCollum, Murphy and Hawkins. If all three of those guys play a large chunk of the season, it’s tough to see New Orleans being bottom-10 in 3-pointers again.
(Photo of CJ McCollum: Matthew Hinton / Imagn Images)
