ENEMY LINES
A rival scout weighs in*NEW ACQUISITION \ R ROOKIE (COLLEGE STATS)
StartersIt just seemed like
[e xec u t i v e V P ] Da v id
Griffin kept turning stuff
into stuff into stuff, and
man, they increased
their athleticism by
100%. I really like their
young guys, then they
get the trio of Lakers
[LONZO BALL, JOSH HARTand BRANDON INGRAM]
who have had some
experience and some
high points.... DERRICK
FAVORS is going to be
a talented veteran
influence for them,
and JJ REDICK, too. Man,
they have like five
guys from Duke....
ZION WILLIAMSON will have
to stay in shape and
work on his jump shot.
I’d expect him to beproductive immediately
just because of how
explosive and powerful
he is. He can put up
numbers in his sleep
with the minutes he’ll
get.... Favors will play
strictly the five. In Utah
they started him, but he
was really the backup
center with the second
unit. Putting him with
JAXSON HAYES will be a
good combo. Hayes isa big-time athlete—
he’s ridiculous. I loved
watching his film....
It’ll be good for Ball to
get out of California and
start his own path. He
needs to make more
shots, but I’m more
concerned about the
injuries piling up. He’s
always going to get the
ball in the right hands,
he does a lot of subtle
things offensively anddefensively. In the NBA
community, people
know he has winning
qualities.... Ingram is
the rare guy who can
handle and create stuff
off the bounce with
his size and pull-up
game. He still has to
get stronger and be
more of a threat from
outside. But you saw
when LeBron was hurt,
Ingram stepped up.TELLING NUMBER
No franchise has undergone a more
drastic transformation over the past
six months. New Orleans brought in
David Griffin to run the front office;
selected Zion Williamson, the most-long odds to win the draft lottery; then fulfilled
the wishes of want-away superstar Anthony Davis,
reaping a massive haul that included Lonzo Ball,
Brandon Ingram and draft capital from the Lakers.
In spite of all the change, the Pelicans have
designs on competing now, which means leaning
on the perennially underrated Jrue Holiday. Lost
in the Davis drama was the point guard’s play: He
set career highs in scoring and rebounding while
RUNNING A LEAGUE-BEST 2.75 MILES PER GAME.
Having brought in a raft of young talent as well
as high-quality veterans in JJ Redick and Derrick
Favors, Griffin and coach Alvin Gentry have
challenged Holiday to take the reins. If he can, no
rebuilding stage will be necessary. —Jeremy Woo2.75
Bench
SF
BRANDON
INGRAM*
18.3 PPG; 5.1 RPG;
3.0 APG; 49.7 FG%PF
ZION
WILLIAMSON (R)
22.6 PPG; 8.9 RPG;
68.0 FG%; 33.8 3FG%SG
JRUE
HOLIDAY
21.2 PPG; 7.7 APG;
5.0 RPG; 65.2 FG%LONZO
BALL*
9.9 PPG; 5.4 APG;
40.6 FG%; 32.9 3FG%PG SG
JJ
REDICK*
18.1 PPG; 2.7 APG;
44.0 FG%; 39.7 3FG%C
JAXSON
HAYES (R)
10.0 PPG; 5.0 RPG;
2.2 BPG; 72.8 FG%DERRICK
FAVORS*
11.8 PPG; 7. 4 RPG;
1.4 BPG; 58.6 FG%C98GREG NELSON (WILLIAMSON)NEW ORLEANS
2018 – 19 RECORD 33– 49 4th in Southwest
Pelicans COACH ALVIN GENTRY 5th season with Pelicans∂39 wins ∂Miss the playoffs ∂Out: The Crescent City. In: New Lob City.THE
WEST
Crystal Ball: