- Zion Williamson‘s late-game 360 dunk to punctuate the Pelicans‘ win over the Suns Friday night led to a skirmish (video link), but he considered it a manner of revenge for last season’s playoff loss, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Several players exchanged words after the dunk, but no punches were thrown. “I got carried away a little bit. I admit that,” Williamson said. “But you know, I was in that locker room when my brothers were down because the Suns sent us home last year. That’s a tough moment to be a part of. So in that moment, I got carried away. I admit that. … If they were to do the same thing, I wouldn’t have no problem with it.”
- The Pelicans are still without Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones for today’s rematch with Phoenix, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. Ingram will miss his seventh game with a toe injury and Jones will sit out his fourth with an injured ankle.
- Dyson Daniels, the No. 8 overall pick in June’s draft, has emerged as an immediate contributor to the West’s No. 1 seed due to his strong defense, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. The 19-year-old Pelicans guard says he welcomes the challenge of guarding top players. “I like when people go at me. I love to accept that challenge,” Daniels said. “I want to show them that I’m here for a reason and I can defend. … Guys always want to go at the rookie, and I’m fine with that. It only makes me better.”
- Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram won’t play against Detroit on Wednesday, according to a team press release. Ingram will miss his fifth straight game due to a left great toe contusion.
Jose Alvarado‘s contract hasn’t been fully guaranteed but the Pelicans might as well do it sooner than later after his 38-point explosion on Sunday. Alvarado set a franchise record for a reserve in his outburst against Denver and admits he didn’t envision having this kind of impact, according to Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune.
“I would be lying if I said when I was a kid I thought this was how it’s going to be,” Alvarado said. “It’s something I can’t really explain.”
Alvarado’s $1.56MM salary for 2022/23 isn’t fully guaranteed until Jan. 10 and his $1,836,096 salary for next season is also non-guaranteed. He has become one of the league’s biggest bargains.
“I tell him all the time, ‘Jose, be yourself. When you are yourself, you are our X-factor,'” forward Zion Williamson said. “You bring energy. When we need runs, you’re there for us.”
We have more on the Pelicans:
- New Orleans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, has acquired Feron Hunt from the Westchester Knicks in exchange for Justin Wright-Foreman, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets. Hunt was on a two-way deal with the Knicks until he was waived last week.
- The Pelicans entered this week’s action with a 15-8 mark and their record is even better than it seems at face value, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. They rank sixth in points scored per 100 possessions and third in points allowed per 100 possessions — only Boston and Phoenix have better net ratings.
- Quality depth has made injuries an unacceptable excuse in coach Willie Green‘s mind, Guillory writes in the same piece. “When guys go down, I’ve said it before, we don’t look at it as an obstacle. For us, it’s an opportunity to go out and continue to grow as a team. Continue to build,” Green said. “Our expectations are high. We’re not there yet, but we’re continuing to build towards where we want to be.”
After picking up a third straight win – and eighth in their last 10 games – on Friday in San Antonio, the Pelicans have a 14-8 record, which puts them in a tie for the No. 2 spot in the West, just one game back of the top-seeded Suns.
New Orleans was expected to take a significant step forward this season with Zion Williamson returning from the foot injury that sidelined him for all of 2021/22, so the team’s strong start isn’t a major surprise. Still, even fans and observers who expected the Pelicans to emerge as a playoff contender have to be impressed by what they’ve seen so far, as Will Guillory of The Athletic writes.
Despite having their “Big Three” of Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum fully available for just 10 of 22 games so far, the Pelicans have the fourth-best net rating in the NBA (+6.5) and the second-best mark in the West.
Their success can largely be attributed to their depth, with starters Jonas Valanciunas and Herbert Jones playing important roles, while Trey Murphy, Larry Nance Jr., Jose Alvarado, Devonte’ Graham, Naji Marshall, and even raw rookie Dyson Daniels all play productive minutes too.
Williamson, meanwhile, appears to be emerging as the superstar he was long expected to be come after being drafted first overall in 2019, averaging an outstanding 26.4 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 5.2 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 1.4 BPG on 67.5% shooting in his last five games.
“We are a special team. I think as the season goes on, the world will get to see that,” Williamson said, per Guillory.
If the Pelicans can get their three stars on the court at the same time more often, they’ll look even more “special.” In the 172 minutes they’ve played together so far this season, Williamson, Ingram, and McCollum have a net rating of +16.5, per NBA.com.
Despite the Pelicans’ impressive play so far, oddsmakers are still relatively bearish on their chances of making a deep postseason run. BetOnline.ag gives the Pels only the seventh-best odds to come out of the West, with the Suns, Warriors, Clippers, Nuggets, Grizzlies, and Mavericks all ahead of them.
Perhaps that’s not surprising, given that New Orleans was just 36-46 last season and hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018. Still, there’s a recent blueprint that Willie Green‘s club will be looking to follow — that blueprint was established by Green’s old team in Phoenix.
The 2019/20 Suns went just 34-39, but finished that season on a tear and then made the NBA Finals the following year in their first postseason appearance in over a decade. The Pelicans have looked like a different team since acquiring McCollum and Nance at last season’s deadline and especially since getting Williamson back. If they win one playoff series, maybe more will follow.
As Guillory points out, the next six weeks may shape the consensus on just how high New Orleans’ ceiling in 2022/23 is. Of the team’s next 22 games, 15 are against clubs that are .500 or better, including three matchups with the West-leading Suns in the next two weeks. If the Pels make it through that stretch and continue to hold a top-four seed in the West by mid-January, it’ll be a lot easier to view them as a legitimate contender.
We want to know what you think. How high is the Pelicans’ ceiling this season? Are they a real threat to come out of the West, or are they still a year or two away from making a deep playoff run?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in!
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson had his most complete two-way performance of the 2022/23 season in Wednesday’s victory over the Raptors, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. Playing without fellow high-scoring starters Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, Williamson finished with 33 points (on 12-of-15 shooting and 9-of-12 from the line), 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks. According to Guillory, none of Toronto’s strong defenders could slow Williamson down on offense, and his defensive energy was contagious. “I told him tonight in the locker room that he was a monster. He carried us. He continued to make the right plays over and over again,” head coach Willie Green said. “He was flying around on both ends of the floor … It’s just impressive. Impressive to see.”
- Second-year forward Herb Jones suffered a left ankle sprain in New Orleans’ victory over Toronto and did not return (Twitter link). X-rays were negative, but Jones and Ingram (left great toe contusion) were both ruled out Friday against the Spurs, the Pelicans announced in a press release. Ingram has now missed three straight games with the injury, which he suffered a week ago.
Pelicans forward Herb Jones is a bargain on his current contract, which pays him $1.79MM this season. But he’ll be looking at an eight-figure annual salary worth “at the very least” the mid-level exception and “almost certainly above it” on his next deal if he continues on his current path, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst predicted in his most recent Hoop Collective podcast.
Windhorst’s comments stemmed from a discussion of a feature by Marc J. Spears of Andscape on the second-year Pelicans forward. As Spears details in his story, Jones prefers to live modestly and think “long-term” for his family — he still drives his car from college and wears Pelicans gear rather than spending extravagantly on a new wardrobe.
“If he wants to drive a Dodge Charger and keep wearing the team-issued gear, that’s fine, but he will have tens of millions in the bank doing so,” Windhorst said with a laugh.
Jones, who told Spears that he aspires to be named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team, is under contract for one more season after this one, with a minimum-salary team option for 2023/24. He’ll become extension-eligible during the 2023 offseason and would be a restricted free agent in 2024 if he hasn’t signed a new deal by then.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- New Mavericks point guard Kemba Walker said during Tuesday’s TNT broadcast that he aims to bring ball-handling skills and leadership to the franchise, describing himself as a “good locker room guy” (Twitter link via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News). On Wednesday, Walker told reporters, including Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News, that he hopes to play for the Mavs “sooner rather than later,” adding that he feels “really good” physically. “I feel as good as I’ve felt in a very long time,” Walker said. “I really took my time and made sure I felt better before I really started ramping myself up as well. Yeah, I know I can just say that, but I guess we’ll just have to see for real.”
- Head coach Jason Kidd said that using the team’s 15th roster spot on players with non-guaranteed salaries will give the Mavericks the flexibility to keep auditioning free agents until they find one they want to commit to. “Some could say we didn’t give (Facundo) Campazzo a fair shot,” Kidd said, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “He didn’t play a lot of minutes. But this is the way we want to use this 15th spot – look at different situations or different guys. Hopefully, Kemba is the guy if Luka (Doncic) or Spencer (Dinwiddie) are out that he can play that role as a backup.”
- Point guard Tre Jones and several of his young Spurs teammates aren’t accustomed to losing as much as they have so far this season and don’t want to get used to it, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “A lot of us come from the background of winning — that’s why we are here,” Jones said. “We talk about it in the locker room. We talk about it every single day, trying to figure out how we can turn this thing around and start stacking some wins again.”
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (left heel contusion) will miss his fourth consecutive game on Wednesday, but Denver will get some reinforcements vs. Houston with Bones Hyland (non-COVID illness) set to make his return following a three-game absence, per Harrison Wind or DNVR Sports (Twitter links).
Hyland last played on November 22 and was hampered by his illness on that night, logging just nine minutes. The Nuggets guard said today that he “couldn’t breathe on the floor” during that game, but is “feeling great” now, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
Here are a few more health-related updates from around the NBA:
- Heat guard Victor Oladipo practiced with the team on Tuesday, but there wasn’t any contact during that session and he won’t play on the current road trip, which runs through next Monday, head coach Erik Spoelstra said today (link via Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel). While Oladipo hasn’t played yet this season due to left knee tendinosis, it sounds like he’s making progress toward a return.
- Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, but will remain sidelined on Wednesday as he attempts to get back into game shape, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN. New Orleans did get some good news on Larry Nance Jr. — he’ll be available after missing Monday’s game with a right shoulder injury.
- Still without Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Luke Kennard, the Clippers added Norman Powell to their injury report for Wednesday’s game in Utah due to a left groin strain. Powell is doubtful to play, says Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).
- Thunder big man Chet Holmgren will undergo a follow-up procedure to remove the “hardware” in his right foot from his previous surgery, a team spokesperson tells Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The procedure had been planned and is a sign that Holmgren is making progress, Mussatto adds.
Zion Williamson finally played in his 100th NBA game on Monday. The biggest difference this season regarding the Pelicans, in Williamson’s mind, is that he feels a sense of continuity, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes.
“I didn’t even think about it,” Williamson said. “But that is a big milestone. I’m on three coaches. This is the first year the locker room has looked somewhat the same players-wise. The thing I can take away from that is it’s just good to have steady people around me now.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- On the same day they signed Kemba Walker, the Mavericks recalled rookie guard Jaden Hardy from the G League, the team’s PR department tweets. In nine games with the Texas Legends, the second round pick is averaging a G League-best 29.0 points on 54.8% shooting, including a 48.2% success rate on 3-pointers, as well as 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 blocks.
- The Mavericks clearly had to do something with their backcourt to create more offense, though it’s uncertain whether Walker can provide that at this stage of his career, Tim Cato of The Athletic opines. Cato breaks down Dallas’ offensive struggles, noting that a lot of it has to do with the loss of free agent Jalen Brunson.
- The Spurs were not disappointed with Jordan Hall but they waived him to address their frontcourt depth, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. They signed Alize Johnson in part due to quad injuries to Jakob Poeltl and Jeremy Sochan.
- Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels and Thunder guard Josh Giddey could make history on Monday. If they both play in their matchup, they would be the first NBA Global Academy teammates to play against each other in an NBA game, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The two Australian point guards have been friends for several years and competed together for the Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, Mussatto notes. Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin, another lottery pick, is the third Global Academy alumnus to make it to the NBA.