In the aftermath of their last-second loss to the Rockets, the Pelicans sat 12th in the West. Ten days later, they are in 8th place and can legitimately aim for the Top 6!
“After the loss to the Lakers (before the one against Houston)we had a strong discussion, collectively”, says Willie Green at Times Picayune. “All the players know it’s time. That really matters. We approach matches with this mentality: to win. And that’s what we do. »
Since this setback against Houston, the Pelicans are indeed on five straight wins. And the strong man of this good dynamic is obviously Brandon Ingram. The winger, who has just been voted player of the week in the West, is averaging 29.8 points (and 54% shooting success) and 8.6 average assists in this series.
His last match against Portland, 29 points at 12/19 on the shoot, perfectly symbolizes his current success.
“It’s nice right now,” he confides. “Especially with this pressure that exists, for our fans, for our team. I feel like I’ve only played 30 games this season (38 exactly) so I’m happy to be on pace at the best of times. It’s easy to get motivated for these games because they matter. »
The proof that the former Lakers player is particularly motivated is the level of play he displays at the start of the match, in order to launch his team perfectly. In New Orleans’ winning streak, he averaged 12.4 points and 3.6 assists in the first quarter. Against the Blazers, he scored 13 points in the first act and Portland was already on the ropes with twenty points behind…
“I like to see Ingram play hard,” emphasizes his coach. “He plays fast and confident. He is in my opinion among the top of the basket of the best players in the league. He is capable of being at this level, we can see that. »
| Brandon Ingram | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | ALL | 79 | 29 | 40.2 | 29.4 | 62.1 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 9.4 |
| 2017-18 | ALL | 59 | 34 | 47.0 | 39.0 | 68.1 | 1.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 16.1 |
| 2018-19 | ALL | 52 | 34 | 49.7 | 33.0 | 67.5 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 18.3 |
| 2019-20 | NOP | 62 | 34 | 46.3 | 39.1 | 85.1 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 23.8 |
| 2020-21 | NOP | 61 | 34 | 46.6 | 38.1 | 87.8 | 0.6 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 23.8 |
| 2021-22 | NOP | 55 | 34 | 46.1 | 32.7 | 82.6 | 0.6 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 22.7 |
| 2022-23 | NOP | 37 | 33 | 47.7 | 39.9 | 88.0 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 23.9 |
| Total | 405 | 33 | 46.3 | 36.4 | 78.0 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 19.0 | |
