How the New Orleans Pelicans can maximize shooting

With the New Orleans Pelicans boasting a dynamic and versatile frontcourt, the team will need to rely on several key players to space the floor this season.

Heading into the 2018-19 NBA season, the New Orleans Pelicans can claim to have one of the most dynamic and talented frontcourts in the league. With MVP candidate Anthony Davis surrounded by a sweet-shooting and versatile offensive big in Nikola Mirotic and a bruising, explosive inside presence in Julius Randle, Alvin Gentry has plenty of options when it comes to pairings in the frontcourt.

However, one aspect of the Pelicans offense that will be important to monitor throughout the season is the team’s shooting, especially in the backcourt and on the wings. While New Orleans’ offense will be explosive and hard to stop due to the fast pace the team will play at, the offense hasn’t relied on 3-pointers and floor-spacing in order to put points on the board.

Last season, the Pelicans ranked 18th in 3-pointers attempted at 28.2 per game while ranking an above-average 13th in 3-point percentage, hitting 36.2 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. The team’s best shooters were E’Twaun Moore (42.5 percent on 3.7 attempts per game) and Darius Miller (41.1 percent on 4.4 attempts per game).

Interestingly enough, it was actually DeMarcus Cousins that attempted the most 3-pointers per game on the team, at a staggering 6.1 per game (excluding Nikola Mirotic’s 30 games with the team, in which he attempted 6.6 shots per game from beyond the arc). Other key players in the team’s rotation struggled from beyond the arc, from Jrue Holiday (33.7 percent) and Rajon Rondo (33.3 percent) to Ian Clark (31.8 percent) and Dante Cunningham (32.4 percent).

Adding more shooting in the starting lineup

Now heading into the upcoming season, the Pelicans no longer have Cousins in the frontcourt, replacing him with Julius Randle, a notoriously limited shooter. This further complicates the floor-spacing for New Orleans.

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Many will claim that Randle should start alongside Davis, creating a versatile and physical frontcourt to terrorize opponents. However, if the Pelicans start Elfrid Payton at point, having Randle on the floor will add a second non-shooter to the starting lineup, surrounding inconsistent perimeter shooters in Davis and Holiday.

As it stands, it best serves the Pelicans to bring Randle off the bench as a sixth man and start a frontcourt of Mirotic and Davis in an attempt to add more shooting to the starting lineup. After all, that frontcourt pairing was extremely successful last season, posting an offensive rating of 112.4 and defensive rating of 101.7, good for a staggering net rating of +10.7.

Not only does Mirotic give Davis more room to operate in the post due to defenses having to extend out to the perimeter to cover the sweet-shooting big, but Mirotic will also benefit from the attention Davis draws around the rim, as he does in the clip below:

Additionally, the Pelicans’ fast pace brings out Mirotic’s quick trigger, which can allow him to get off 3-pointers before the defense is set and focused in on guarding him on the perimeter:

While Mirotic struggled from beyond the arc during his regular season stint with the Pelicans (hitting only 33.5 percent of his 3-pointers), it is important to note the volume of attempts he put up, as well as his scorching shooting in the playoffs (43.1 percent on over five attempts per game).

Mirotic and Davis fit together extremely well, and in the team’s up-tempo system, the two bigs can thrive off one another in a way that Davis simply can’t playing alongside Randle in the starting lineup.

Maximizing shooting on the wings

Of course, Mirotic can’t play all 48 minutes of a game, and Randle certainly deserves plenty of minutes, meaning there will be stretches in which New Orleans will have a complete non-shooter in the frontcourt. However, there are ways to stretch the floor around Randle, allowing him to work in the paint and cause terror in transition. This is mainly through playing the team’s best shooters when the 23-year-old big man is on the floor.

As mentioned above, the Pelicans’ best shooters on the wing are Moore and Miller, and it’s very likely that playing both with Randle will allow them to put up points in a hurry. It’s easy to imagine plays like the one below, with Randle handling the ball in transition and finding shooters such as Miller for open 3s while the defense is running back:

When the Pelicans attack early in a possession before the defense is set, shooters such as Moore and Miller can thrive, often receiving quality looks from the corner and wing:

The Pelicans’ starting lineup could very well be Payton, Holiday, Moore, Mirotic and Davis, a lineup that has ample spacing around Payton and Davis (who has quickly developed into an average shooter from beyond the arc). When Randle is inserted into the frontcourt (especially in place of Mirotic), Gentry should focus on having Miller join the floor with him to space the floor around the bruising big man.

A possible lineup of Holiday, Moore, Miller, Randle and Davis still provides plenty of shooting and spacing, and will allow Randle to thrive as a ball-handler in transition, either finding shooters before the defense is set or taking advantage of open lanes to the rim due to defenders focusing on Holiday, Moore and/or Miller on the perimeter.

Subbing Mirotic in for Davis in the above lineup provides even more shooting and offensive firepower, but would certainly sacrifice on the defensive end, especially in the paint. Regardless, the Pelicans should explore the Mirotic-Randle pairing, surrounding them with defenders on the perimeter (Holiday, possibly Solomon Hill) and shooters (Moore and/or Miller).

The Pelicans had the ninth-ranked offense last season, but there is still room for improvement. With the team having a full offseason to integrate Mirotic and Randle into the frontcourt, as well as implementing a focus on attempting more 3-pointers (especially in transition), New Orleans could have one of the most unstoppable offenses as a result of the team’s fast pace.

Effectively incorporating shooting on the perimeter and wings in order to support the team’s dynamic frontcourt is the first step in achieving such an offense. Hopefully Pelicans fans get ample opportunities to see the fast-paced system result in quality 3-pointers and shots at the rim in the upcoming season.