New Orleans Pelicans: 3 factors for success in NBA’s Orlando restart

2. Staying solid inside

It’s clear that New Orleans needs its scorers to be competitive down in Orlando, and that’s great. But the most important part of the Pelicans’ game down this eight-game stretch is going to be how they turn up on the defensive end.

Holiday is as excellent as ever and Ball has impressed hugely on the perimeter. But, to win these games, the Pelicans are going to have to become an interior force.

There are no standout players who can defend the paint extremely well. 2019 lottery-pick Jaxson Hayes has shown potential on both ends, leading the team with a 4.6 block percentage, proving himself to be an impactful paint player off the bench.

However, this is just about as good as it gets. Jahlil Okafor has proved to be one of the team’s better interior defensive players in the time he’s had off the bench. Okafor was a reliable defender in college, but it’s taken time to translate to the league. His length and ability provide the Pelicans with a solid frame in the post and someone who can make a difference.

Josh Hart’s defensive work-rate is also very important to the Pelicans, a player who can make it tough for any opposition player looking to come inside. The intensity he plays with is just as important and helps that second unit a lot. The player who’s going to have to become better on inside mostly is Derrick Favors. New Orleans’ starting center is a good rebounder, but defensively speaking, he’s a player who could be exposed by any good post-scoring opponent.

There’s plenty of bodies and size to become tough on the inside, but it’s a matter of sizing up to your opponent and making it tougher than it has been for them to score easy buckets. This is going to be integral to how the Pelicans progress down in Orlando.