The New Orleans Pelicans’ offense has yet to click four games in.
After scoring 113 points in their opening-night win, the Pelicans have failed to break the 100-point barrier in every game since.
On Tuesday, the Pelicans put up just 86 points in a blowout loss to the Suns. They made 3 of 24 3s, their fewest in a game since they lost by 46 points to the Mavericks in November 2019.
“It’s different from every other year because of the time,” Steven Adams said. “Still man, it’s not impossible. Chemistry is just a weird thing. You can’t really rush it.”
There’s no microwaving chemistry, Adams said, especially in these circumstances. In November, the Pelicans traded for Adams and Eric Bledsoe. Because of the pandemic, the Pelicans got two weeks of training camp together before the regular-season began.
The challenge of incorporating two new pieces with minimal runway has contributed to an offense that coach Stan Van Gundy on Tuesday described as “discombobulated.”
“I still am not sure what the best way for us to play is,” Van Gundy said. “I know we want to play with good pace. I also know that we want to play with more structure and discipline. Trying to find that balance is hard.”
The Pelicans rank third-to-last in the NBA in turnover percentage. They made sound decisions Sunday in their home opener, when they had eight turnovers, but their turnover totals in their other three games are ugly: 24, 19 and 16.
New Orleans has also gotten stagnant in half-court situations. Van Gundy said that New Orleans’ offense tends to break down if its primary option isn’t available.
“If we don’t get anything, get it to the other side of the floor and play,” Van Gundy said. “I thought Phoenix did an outstanding job of that last night. We’re a one-option team right now, and we tend to be stagnant and stand around and go one-on-one. We’ve got to get the ball moving and get into more actions.”
Part of the Pelicans’ problem is that no one has stepped up to be a viable option at backup center. On Tuesday, when Adams subbed out for his first break of the game, the Pelicans led by one. When he checked back in with 4:33 remaining in the first half, they trailed by 13.
Van Gundy has tried several different options at the backup 5, including Jaxson Hayes, Nicolo Melli and Zion Williamson, with limited success.
“Right now, I’m more focused on us playing better based on who is out there,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t think it’s a problem of chemistry, of having certain units together. I think it’s a systemic problem that we’re all having right now. We’ve just got to get better. That’s where my focus is.”
The Pelicans (2-2) knew there would be issues to work through. They are trying to adopt a gritty, defense-first identity that is a significant departure from their identity last season. Dec. 6 was the first time the new-look Pelicans got to practice together. They’ve still had less than one month to make wholesale changes.
“The whole team is out of sync," Adams said. "And it should be noted that just because we score — and that’s how you win the game; to score — but you can still be out of sync within the system and the rules, if that makes sense. Sometimes you get broken plays and what not. But it’s minimizing the amount of those plays each game."
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December 31, 2020 at 05:44AM
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No microwaving chemistry: Steven Adams, Pelicans trying to correct low-scoring offense - NOLA.com
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