The Pelicans in the 2022 playoffs, in the "post-thick eyebrow" era, changed the impression that the team was not competitive.
At the start of the season, they lost 12 of their first 13 games, and the chaos in the backcourt was completely unable to get Ingram to go all out. The most talented Champion Fat Tiger hangs a free battle card. To change this team, it takes a lot of strength.
Fortunately, they woke up in time for the middle of the season. The Blazers rebuild, a big deal to give the Pelicans a new look.
Tall starts, tougher matches
Now, the Pelicans' starting lineup goes like this:
2 masters of attacking with the ball: McCollum and Ingram, one with a solid foundation and many years of experience as a second boss; a fast and long arm, template Durant Jr.
Inside the twin Tavalam and Hayes: a big center with a wealth of offensive means, and a young man with a forward body but an explosive athleticism, can do a very good job of leading the team.d's tasks.
There is also the flank defender Herbert Jones, through the McCollum trade, the Pelicans have formed a set of offensive and defensive teams, the lineup is very reasonable.
Changes in Varan, CJ
Thick Brow left New Orleans because the city's commercial value was not high enough, not as good as a metropolis like Los Angeles.
Most small-ball markets face this problem, especially the stars who control the voice, often forcing the team to trade it through less professional methods. It is also for this reason that the Pelicans have been sluggish in the reinforcement market. Several big names in the draw, Valanciunas, CJ McCollum, the former because the Grizzlies want to take the initiative to change, the latter because the Blazers want to tear down the rebuild.
The dislocation of the Greater Varan competition
The soft feel, the standard center figure, these are all weapons that help the Pelicans diversify their lineup.
Before joining the Pelicans, Varan had already been traded twice by the team: bidding farewell to the Raptors and the Grizzlies, both for similar reasons: Varan was too heavy, couldn't move fast enough, and couldn't beat the offensive and defensive conversion advocated by the modern system.
But in this era, most of the teams that pursue perfect configuration must keep a hand. After saying goodbye to Valand, Gasol Grande propped up the Raptors' interior defense and managed to limit Embiid in the playoffs that season. The Grizzlies gave up Varan more out of the possession and contract extension, and the new Adams can also play an active role in some games.
For example, Adams, who was later replaced by the Grizzlies, could only play the opposite role when facing the impact of the Timberwolves. Since the second game, the head coach discovered the benefits of not letting Adams go, and has been playing back and forth with the Grizzlies.
Similarly, in this series, Grand Varlan is also at play part of the time. Using Varan to touch Ayton hard will only hit a nose of ash. But to put it another way, Coach Monti was on Varan at Ayton's time, and the Suns' lineup was not rich enough to prevent Varan from attacking across the board, and this misalignment somewhat created some opportunities for the Pelicans.
CJ who changed to playing the organization defender
After CJ McCollum found a "home-like place", the changes were visible to the naked eye.
CJ's evaluation of the Blazers' strength is not stable enough, and after so many years of assisting Lillard, the Blazers have not further improved the team's combat effectiveness. Both men in the backcourt were shooting and occupied a lot of space, resulting in the team not being able to bring in good forwards. In the playoffs, there is no problem with a strong front.
Here, CJ's attributes are more in favor of organizational defenders, and at the same time, the old problems that the Blazers have not been able to solve have been solved. Healthy Ingram juggles offense and defense, and has a good hand in breaking through with the ball. In the scorching moment, the Pelicans finally did not rely on outside shooting, and CJ's stable mid-range was the best means of assistance.
Don't forget, all of this is based on the absence of a second-year forward who averaged 27+ per game for the entire season.