Coach of the Pelicans, Willie Green is starting to lose patience, seeing the same scenario repeated too often. Tuesday evening against Phoenix, its starting five took on water again in no time, with 11 points behind after less than ten minutes of play. To start the second half, it's the same story that It happened again, the Suns scored on 6 of their first 7 possessions, and the gap flew away again.
“We don’t defend during the first five minutes of the match. They know that. I talked to them about it. Of course, we can score, and this five showed that he was capable of scoring. But we have to do a better job on defense. This is something we must continue to work on. We even have to be open to the idea of mixing the fives and the oppositions to see what we can get” explains the technician.
Worst starting five in the NBA on defense
For the coach, after the warnings, the time for dialogue is coming to an end and the breaking point is getting closer. The figures are edifying to highlight this lack of toughness in his major five, made up of CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas, and that “ Cleaning The Glass » ranks last among 14 other fives in the league who have played at least 500 possessions together.
The Pelicans' starters also stand out by conceding 10.7 more points than their opponents per 100 possessions on average in the first half. A figure which climbs to 19.2 in the second half! Upon arrival, the Pelicans' starting five collected 120.9 points out of 100 possessions… That's way too many!
“We have enough data to know that this is a problem and we are working on it. For now, we want to give them a chance to correct things. But we are at the point where everything is possible”, added Willie Greenmore and more threatening.
A decisive week?
It now remains to find the right formula, and the mission does not look so simple for Willie Green, who has little room to maneuver to adjust his five majors.
If the McCollum-Ingram-Williamson trio seems untouchable, all that remains is Herb Jones, considered the best defender of the five and who faces the best opposing back every night, and Jonas Valanciunas, also valuable for his deterrent role and his undermining work in attack. The first option to replace him would be Larry Nance Jr, but Willie Green must be careful to take care of his power forward, who has been prone to injuries since the start of the season.
Unless you hit hard and remove an “unbreakable” from your five, your options seem limited. The only good news for him is that New Orleans will benefit from a “lighter” week with only one match Tuesday against the Jazz and Friday against Oklahoma City, each time at home. This will notably be an opportunity to test things in training, and to take stock of what can be modified.
» This allows us to go to the gym and work a little more. Especially to give it our all, running from one side of the field to the other and making them compete on some of our concepts, and even some things that we do quite well. We will be able to address these things” concludes Willie Green.
