Don’t hesitate. Shoot the ball.
Whether it was the early portion of Eric Bledsoe’s unofficial debut for New Orleans on Friday, or what Lonzo Ball has been told repeatedly by a veteran teammate, that’s a commonly delivered message to the Pelicans’ starting backcourt, with the regular season quickly approaching.
Bledsoe somewhat understandably began Friday’s preseason win vs. Milwaukee reluctant to come in firing jumpers or dominating the ball, particularly given the offensive talent surrounding him in the starting five. He didn’t want to step on toes.
“As a new guy, you don’t want to come in and do too much,” Bledsoe said. “But I think my teammates and the coaching staff did a good job of telling me to play my game and be aggressive.”
The result was Bledsoe’s nine-point third quarter, including two layups and a three-pointer, helping New Orleans regain control in a 127-113 decision over his previous NBA team. Bledsoe finished the victory with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Meanwhile, Ball came out aggressively from the opening minute, scoring eight quick points as part of a 35-20 first quarter for New Orleans. He wound up with nearly identical game numbers as his backcourt partner, registering 19 points, five rebounds and eight assists. The Pelicans are always happy to see Ball be aggressive offensively, either driving into the paint or taking every open jumper. That’s especially true for teammate and 15-year pro JJ Redick, who’s made a habit of reminding Ball to launch.
“I literally tell this guy every (expletive) day to shoot the ball,” said Redick, who has developed a good rapport with the point guard over two seasons. “I hate when he passes up shots. He’s turned himself into a great shooter, and we want him to be aggressive.”
“I felt good,” Ball said of his rhythm and confident shooting Friday. “A lot of my shots were open, as they were in Miami (a 5 of 15 shooting night Monday). Just keep taking them. Start making them.”
“Lonzo Ball’s a really good basketball player,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Smart, skilled, sees the game. There’s not much he can’t do. He’s starting to be a little bit more aggressive taking the ball to the basket. Like anybody, he’s got things he can work on, but I’m a big believer in Lonzo Ball and his abilities.”
Ball spent all of New Orleans training camp working with teammates, but Bledsoe was forced to miss practices to attend to a personal matter and subsequently did not play Monday at Miami. As a result, he’s trying to get fully acclimated on the court.
“He missed a lot of time in camp,” Van Gundy said of Bledsoe. “When you’re new to a group, it makes it tough. I thought he was a lot more aggressive in the second half. I thought he was trying too hard to just sort of fit in in the first half. We wanted him to be more aggressive offensively, wanted him to shoot his open shots and attack the basket. What we saw in the last quarter and a half was the Eric Bledsoe we’re used to watching.”
Moments after the final buzzer of his first game in a Pelicans uniform, Bledsoe said he’s optimistic to see what New Orleans can accomplish in the future. It’s exceptionally early in the process for both he and his team – which features talented 23- and 20-year-old starting forwards – but the Pelicans have shown promising signs in preseason.
“Who knows?” Bledsoe said Friday in a postgame radio interview, when asked about NOLA’s potential. “We’re going to keep getting better every day. That’s the biggest thing. Especially with the young talent we have, if we compete like this come the regular season, we’ll have a good chance to do something special.”
