ATLANTA – A busy offseason filled with major acquisitions – three first-round picks, three trade pickups from the Lakers, the additions of veterans such as JJ Redick and Derrick Favors – has concluded. Now it’s time to put it all together on the hardwood.
New Orleans opens its five-game preseason schedule Monday at State Farm Arena, intent on gelling and trying to become a cohesive group as soon as possible. In the interest of being ready for formidable competition later this month, as Jrue Holiday put it after Monday’s shootaround, “We kind of feel like we have a short amount of time to get good, especially in the West.”
The Pelicans will play a game every other day this week through Sunday, then wrap up the exhibition slate Oct. 18 at New York. The regular season opener is two weeks from tomorrow, a visit to defending NBA champion Toronto on Oct. 22. In the meantime, New Orleans will try to get its large collection of brand-new pros adjusted to the NBA. As No. 1 pick Zion Williamson and fellow first-rounders Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker debut for New Orleans, team captain Holiday has a few simple messages for the rookies.
“Play as hard as you can, and be as coachable as possible,” Holiday said, when asked specifically about what advice he’d give his young teammates. “We have a lot of new guys (on the roster), in addition to new guys into the league. Just be coachable, learn from mistakes, everything you learn as a rookie. It’s going to be difficult, especially (adjusting to) the talent at this level, compared to summer league or even in college. Don’t be discouraged. It’s OK to make mistakes, but learn from them.”
“I want them to play hard, see if they can grasp the concepts of what we’re trying to put in, or at least show they’re learning some of it,” Pelicans fifth-year head coach Alvin Gentry said of the rookies. “The test for them is going to be the speed of the game. This is going to be the first time other than the summer league where they are actually playing against NBA players. The speed of the game, the adjustment they make there, the physicality of the game, and just the overall NBA experience is going to be a test. They’ve got five games to do this, and I’m not going to judge anything just from tonight. If they play great or struggle, there is a long way to go before we start evaluating them.” …
Other notes from Monday shootaround in Georgia:
Gentry said the Pelicans “will experiment a little bit” with Williamson in terms of how they use him, with the nominal forward perhaps playing a few different positions in various lineups. “We’ll try to put him in a lot of different situations. Minutes-wise, I don’t know how long that will be.” …
Williamson on playing with point guard Lonzo Ball: “I know he’s a great passer, so when I make cuts, I know he’s sees me. We just feed off of each other.” …
Asked about some of his objectives in preseason, Williamson responded, “Trying to learn my teammates decisions in-game, what they like to do. Also just try to find myself. I’m a rookie, I’m still trying to find out how I’m going to do here as well.” …
Derrick Favors (hamstring tightness) remains listed as questionable to play in Monday’s game. …
A South Carolina native, Williamson smiled when asked what support he will have in Atlanta, then said, “Mom, Dad, (brother) Noah and whatever Duke fans are in this area.”
