Connect with us

NBA

How the Phoenix Suns Can Overcome The Pelicans?

The Phoenix Suns will start their Finals quest on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans after the Pelicans defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in the final play-in game. This will be a match-up between head coach Monty Williams for the Suns and his former assistant coach Willie Green.

Although the number one-seeded Suns are the heavy favorite in this series, the eight-seeded Pelicans come in with momentum and confidence after the way they finished the regular season. With their young, blossoming superstar Zion Williamson not playing a single game during the 2021-22 season, New Orleans struggled early.  However, they finished with a strong 13-10 record after the All-Star break. 

A lot of this success had to do with the acquisition of guard CJ McCullom from the Portland Trailblazers. Since joining the team, McCollum added a strong scoring guard needed in order to make a late-season push. Since joining the Pelicans, McCollum has averaged 24.3 points on 49% from the field. 

Along with McCollum, the New Orleans offense is led by forward Brandon Ingram and center Jonas Valanciunas. Ingram’s offensive game exploded during the play-in games. He averaged 28.5 points along with being the go-to guy late in games for the team. For Valanciunas, he’s been a strong offensive threat in the paint, averaging 17.8 points and 11.8 rebounds during the regular season. 

For the Suns, they match up well against the top three scorers for New Orleans. With excellent defenders, Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges and DeAndre Ayton, McCollum, Ingram and Valanciunas will be challenged to put up the same sorts of numbers they put up in the regular season. During the regular season, the Suns won the series 3-1. Each game was decided by more than 15 points, even in the only game the Pelicans won in February, 117-102. 

One big focus for the Suns in this series is how they will attack the subpar Pelicans’ defense. Although they have decent individual defenders such as rookie Herbert Jones and backup point guard Jose Alverado, New Orleans ranks number 20 in defensive rating. Their struggles as a defensive unit have been an issue for them, especially against the better teams in the Western Conference. 

The Suns should look to break down the New Orleans defense by constantly moving the ball. Paul’s ability to get into the paint will make it tough on the Pelican defense. If he can attack the paint and kick out to shooters, something that Phoenix has plenty of, the Pelicans will have a tough time getting to the ball. This will leave opportunities for the Suns, either getting open on the initial pass or by moving the ball for a better shot. 

Although the Suns will likely end this series early, these are important games for the Suns to build their momentum into the next rounds. It’s important to get your star players such as Paul and Booker going early, as the deeper a team’s playoff run is, the more production is needed from star players.

The Suns will start their first round match-up at Footprint Center on Sunday at 6 pm. Their journey to bring Phoenix its first Finals will be interesting to watch. 

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured Articles

Featured Writers

More in NBA