Just over 25 minutes. This is the amount of playing time it took to Paolo Banchero to validate his second career triple-double, as the end of the third quarter approached in the victory over the Pelicans.
The Florida leader did not particularly pull the cover for himself, each time making the right gesture, the right reading of the game. This is how he delivered 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the end, actively contributing to the success of Jamahl Mosley's men, who did not fail to pay tribute to him after the match.
“Opposing teams target him, defend on him in different ways, but he just does the right thing, the right pass, he’s not going to force the play.”, did he declare. “He knows how to read what the defense is doing and adjusts as the game goes on. Only then does he find his moment to take his responsibilities in attack. That's all the growth of a young man, but that's also what All-Star players, great players do. They adjust based on what they see from the opponent, and then manage to give their all.”.
A question of mentality
As for his performance with his second triple-double this season, the 21-year-old summed it up by his willingness to involve his teammates from the start of the match.
“I just tried to let the game come to me. I found that we had good shooting positions in the first quarter, so I wanted to continue to manipulate the opposing defense with my passes. I wanted to continue to find guys in these positions.”he confided after the match.
Paolo Banchero also underlined the good mentality of his team, which had started very badly, finding itself at -12 in the first quarter, before gradually climbing back up to relegate the Pelicans to a 20-point gap. afterwards.
“I think it was more about composure than adjustments. Like I said, I think we had a lot of open shots to start the game, they just weren't falling into them. When we got together, we all told ourselves that we shouldn't panic, not to worry. We'll get what we want as long as we defend hard. That’s what we focused on, making sure we defended hard and got stops.”
| Paolo Banchero | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | ENT | 72 | 34 | 42.7 | 29.8 | 73.8 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 20.0 |
| 2023-24 | ENT | 67 | 35 | 46.6 | 36.8 | 71.2 | 1.1 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 22.7 |
| Total | 139 | 34 | 44.7 | 33.3 | 72.6 | 1.1 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 21.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
