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Like Zion Williamson, the Pelicans are taking a step in the right direction

We must toughen up », demanded at the start of the week Willie Green, whose Pelicans team had not yet won in preseason. It is now done with this victory on the Magic floor (92-104), a few days after suffering a heavy defeat against the same team.

The New Orleans coach had lined up his usual starting five and mobilized his starters for around twenty minutes, with the exception of Zion Williamson who played 16 minutes. All the same, time to accumulate 16 points (6/8), 3 rebounds, 3 assists and above all 5 interceptions, which led him to several flights to the circle on the counter-attack and 2 blocks.

Symbol of a great defensive investment for a Pelicans team which limited its opponent to 92 points scored with only 42% success, including far too many 3-point shots (13/47). The Paolo Banchero – Wendell Carter Jr. tandem thus finished with a sad 3/16 on cumulative shots.

Fortunately for the Magic, the Wagner brothers ensured their success (35 points between them at 15/21 on shots). The score was better distributed on the Pelicans side since alongside the leaping interior, Brandon Ingram (18), CJ McCollum (11) and Jonas Valanciunas (10) all three reached the 10 unit mark.

They were supported by their rookie pivot, Trey Jemison, one rebound from the double-double, who was decisive in the final minutes, where the second knives of the Pelicans snatched the decision. Zion Williamson’s teammates end their preseason with a record of one victory in four games.

We are still far from what we think we can be. We have a lot of talent, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. What matters for us is the intensity of our play. Are we sharing the ball? Are we defending? When we combine our talent with this dimension, we obtain something special “, delivered Willie Green at the end of the meeting.

His team starts its regular season in a week on the Grizzlies floor.

Orlando / 92 Shots Rebounds
Players Min Shots 3pts L.F. O D T Pd Party Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval
P. Banchero 20 2/9 0/2 1/2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 1 -9 5 1
F.Wagner 19 8/11 3/6 0/0 2 3 5 2 0 1 0 1 -3 19 25
W. Carter Jr. 20 1/7 1/4 1/2 3 3 6 5 0 0 3 1 -9 4 6
Mr. Fultz 20 2/6 0/1 0/0 1 2 3 6 2 1 3 0 -3 4 7
J.Suggs 19 3/6 1/3 2/2 1 1 2 0 3 2 1 1 -6 9 10
J.Isaac 10 0/3 0/3 0/0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 +11 0 3
C.Okeke 12 1/4 1/4 0/0 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 1 -11 3 5
Mr. Wagner 16 7/10 2/4 0/0 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 +8 16 16
G.Bitadze 12 4/5 1/2 0/0 2 2 4 2 1 0 2 0 -11 9 12
C.Anthony 16 2/2 0/0 2/2 0 3 3 4 2 0 3 0 +2 6 10
J. Ingles 16 1/2 1/2 0/0 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 +2 3 4
G. Harris 18 3/7 2/5 2/3 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 1 +5 10 12
T.Queen 5 0/1 0/1 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 -13 0 -3
C. Houstan 12 1/4 1/4 0/0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 -11 3 2
A.Black 13 0/1 0/1 1/4 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 -1 1 -1
J.Howard 12 0/6 0/5 0/0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 -11 0 -4
35/84 13/47 9/15 10 29 39 27 15 11 19 10 92 105
New Orleans / 104 Shots Rebounds
Players Min Shots 3pts L.F. O D T Pd Party Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval
Z. Williamson 16 6/8 0/1 4/5 0 3 3 3 1 5 3 2 +6 16 23
B.Ingram 24 8/16 0/1 2/2 3 1 4 6 1 0 1 0 +3 18 19
H.Jones 24 3/4 1/2 0/0 0 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 -3 7 9
J.Valanciunas 21 5/9 0/2 0/0 2 4 6 0 4 0 3 0 -4 10 9
C. McCollum 23 5/12 1/2 0/0 2 3 5 5 2 0 2 0 -7 11 12
EJ Liddell 18 1/3 0/1 2/4 2 1 3 1 2 0 1 1 -2 4 4
T. Jemison 16 5/6 0/0 0/0 2 7 9 1 3 0 2 0 +14 10 17
K. Lewis Jr. 17 3/7 1/5 0/0 1 1 2 3 0 1 2 0 +9 7 7
Mr. Hill 9 1/3 1/3 2/2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 +8 5 4
J. Crutcher 10 3/4 2/3 0/0 0 2 2 3 2 0 1 0 +10 8 11
I.Brockington 4 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 +11 0 1
D. Seabron 16 1/3 0/1 0/0 0 3 3 3 0 1 1 0 +12 2 6
J.Hawkins 18 1/8 1/7 0/0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 -2 3 -3
Daniels 23 1/4 0/0 1/2 1 4 5 0 1 2 0 1 +5 3 7
43/87 7/28 11/15 13 34 47 26 17 11 19 4 104 125

How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.

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