Alvin Gentry and the New Orleans front office has sung the praises of Brandon Ingram’s work ethic and dedication to improvement all season, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that when Ingram was asked to discuss his latest individual honor, he immediately brought up the same topic.
“Still got work to do,” Ingram said of his initial reaction to being named one of 44 finalists for USA Basketball’s Olympic team, which will compete this summer in Tokyo. “It’s great to be recognized with some of the top players in the league and to God be the glory for it, but we’ll worry about that after the season. Right now continue to focus on what we need to do right now.”
Also a first-time All-Star, what Ingram and New Orleans (22-31) are focused on short-term is its pursuit of a Western Conference playoff berth, with each game vital under the Pelicans’ current circumstances. Despite being one of the NBA’s hotter teams for the past month-plus, New Orleans remains five games behind eighth-place Memphis (27-26), partly because the Grizzlies themselves have been on a tear, going 14-4 in their last 18 games (two of the four losses came vs. the Pelicans).
New Orleans is 16-9 since Dec. 18, a 25-game span in which Ingram has played in 23 of those contests and averaged a team-best 24.8 points, on 46 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent on threes and 89 percent at the foul line. The forward has made incredible strides in the latter two categories this season, after shooting 33 percent and 68 percent with the Lakers in 2018-19, respectively.
”I’ve always been a shooter. It’s something I wanted to work on before I got injured last year,” said Ingram, who missed the final 30 games due to blood clots in his arm. “Having repetition on the three-point shot and being able to score on all levels of the basketball floor.”
Notes from shootaround Tuesday at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center:
Jrue Holiday on Nicolo Melli’s impact and contributions lately after the forward had earlier stretches of less playing time: “He’s a professional. He’s a rookie to us, but he’s been doing this for a long time. The way he prepares for the game, he gets himself mentally ready for any situation. He’s been pretty consistent over the years. Bringing that here is something that everyone gets a chance to see. Lifting every single day, one of the first people (before practice) playing one-on-one. It sets a good example.” …
Melli is shooting over 50 percent from three-point range since Jan. 1 at 22/43, one reason the Pelicans are always encouraging him to fire away from the perimeter. He’s been less hesitant to do so in recent weeks, perhaps partly because he’s not accustomed to a role where he is asked to be a prolific scorer. Holiday: “We tell him all the time, the ball’s going to keep coming to you. We know what you can do. We’ve seen you do it.” …
Melli on being encouraged to shoot: “I think I needed a couple months to adapt. For sure, they’re pushing me to take more shots. Being able to play more constantly and practicing every day with the player development coaches – and Zion (Williamson) attracting so much attention – these are all things that help me. Hopefully I can keep going.”
