Pels need to improve their defense
Originally Posted by
Steven43
Geez, that’s awful. Were you watching? Down the stretch did they try to get the ball to Zion where he could drive to the basket and at least force a defender to foul him even if he wasn’t able to make the shot?
Steven43, I agree with you, as did one of the announcers, who said that a task of Van Gundy has to be figuring out how to create more space for Zion to do his thing toward the basket. Zion is Hardenesque in driving to the basket and he will likely get more 50-50 calls as his reputation grows.
That said, I was disappointed to see that Zion did not double down on the shooter at the end of OT. That was Job #1. As the shot was launched he took a step toward the shooter and basket, but it was of course too late. He didn't switch quickly enough from guarding his guy who was on the wing waiting for a potential pass for a 3. Fundamental basketball at that point is to make sure that the guy with the ball does not have a non-contested shot.
The Pelican's #1 need is to improve their defense as BI [Ingram] confirmed in the post-game presser. The Pelicans are fun to watch and I think they will improve their D.
“I love it. Coach, when we came here, we had a three-hour meeting about the core values. If you really represent the core values, it means diving on the floor, sacrificing your body for your teammates, no matter how much you’re up by or how much you’re down by, always playing hard.” -- Zion