New Orleans Pelicans: 3 players who have stepped up in the bubble

1. Josh Hart

With how good Brandon Ingram is turning out to be, Josh Hart is a player who can easily be overlooked when it comes to how good of a player he actually is. Yes, Ingram is that potential superstar that they got from sending Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, but they also got a solid piece in Hart, who is averaging 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds on the season off the bench.

He’s a player who plays with potency and also puts his imprint on a game when coming into it. This has been evident in Orlando as he had terrific games against the Utah Jazz and Memphis, with 15 points and 7 boards against the Grizzlies. He’s one of the Pelicans’ most important players on the defensive end as he plays high-intensity defense on the inside. On a team that isn’t known for being defensively sound, especially on the interior, Hart’s hustle, and his general capacity to be a plus defender is very important for this team.

Hart is another player who’ll need to keep that same level of intensity going into the rest of the Pelicans’ game in Orlando. In just his third season in the league, his presence with that second unit is another extremely valuable part of this team.