Pelicans pressing Brandon Ingram to bring training camp attitude to regular season
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The New Orleans Pelicans left issues unaddressed during the preseason. They even used a few lineups that had not seen live game action in the finale against the Houston Rockets. Willie Green will be doing the same in the regular season opener at home against Lonzo Ball’s Chicago Bulls. While Brandon Ingram made his highly-anticipated debut versus the Rockets, the Pelicans rested Zion Williamson.
That meant New Orleans did not get to see Ingram, Williamson, and the newly acquired Dejounte Murray share the court for a single minute during the three exhibition games. Still, Willie Green and the Pelicans see Williamson’s conditioning work paying off. Murray is taking charge as a table-setting point guard. The pressure is on Ingram to bring a focused training camp attitude into the regular season, per Green.
Green is backing Ingram to build upon the work already put in.
“We are all excited. (Ingram) has had a really good camp,” Green shared. “He is playing with force and definitely taking more threes. Getting to the rim more, getting to the free throw line. He has looked good and it is indicative of what we’ve seen throughout training camp. It’s just good to have him back on the floor healthy and playing at a high level.”
Taking more three-pointers is more than a point of emphasis. That is the only way the Big Easy’s new Big Three is going to work.
"It's an area of growth, something he worked on all summer," added Green. "He knows that unlocks other components to his game."
Individual improvements only go so far in a five-man setting. Murray wants Ingram to play within team concepts to make everyone better, via Jim Eicenhofer of NBA.com.
"I mean, he's (6-foot-8) and can do everything," Murray explained. "With a guy like that, with his size, you just put him in spots and let him work. Put him at the elbow, the top of the key, the blocks. His size and how well he shoots in that area, and knowing he's a willing passer. Making his job easier makes our job easier. He's going to force a lot of double (teams), which will allow us to get open shots."
Pelicans, Brandon Ingram working on issues
Open shots require space. Brandon Ingram did not provide much in the preseason finale with only three shots from beyond the arc. Sure, Ingram was 7-of-13 from the field but those training camp tendencies did not make it to the court.
Green got real after a 118-98 loss to the Houston Rockets. The Pelicans have work to do and no way to test out any new tactics before the regular season begins.
“We have to do a better job of driving and winning the paint battle. I think right now that is what we are missing,” Green admitted. “We’ll make some shots, that’ll come. But we have to do a better job of protecting our paint, 60 points in the paint is too much. And then we need to score in the paint when we get opportunities…Without a game in the next eight days, it is going to be crucial that we have high-intensity practices and focus on details.”
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