For the 2023-24 Pelicans, their final season record is 49-33. While the first half of the season was hopeful, New Orleans had another disappointing season with injury problems in the second half of the season. At the end of the season, Ingram was not able to reach an early contract extension with the team, and more crucially, the team traded for Detayzhang Murray.
Frankly, it seems like we've been able to see Ingram in another team's jersey. However, before the official news is confirmed, Ingram is still a member of the Pelicans, and his poor performance last season has largely affected the team's final results.
With that in mind, if Ingram can play at his star level in the new season, he could be a key part of the final change in the team.
Looking back at Yingge's performance last season, he averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, and the shooting rates of the three shots were 49.2%, 35.3%, and 80.1% respectively. But thinking of 64 games in a single season, who can contribute an average of 20+5+5 striker players per game, Yingge can at least rank in the top ten positions in the league in the same position, and even based on this, I have always had a star filter for Yingge, I always think that his ability is not only this, as long as there is a team that suits him, he can play the level of a star striker.
After all, a striker like him with a certain level of organizational ability is really rare in the league.
Regarding Yingge's slump in the Pelicans, I am more willing to understand him as a team position conflict between the two Williamsons. Both of them are core players who need to play the ball, and off-ball offense is a weak link; Even from the defensive end, the defensive level of these two is below the league average, and they seem to be two young talents worth looking forward to in the future, but such a completely unhealthy combination basically does not achieve the effect of 1+1>2 that we expected.
It's not hard to understand why many fans are voicing their hopes that the Pelicans will take the initiative to tear the duo apart. Referring to what we said above, from the Pelicans management's move to trade Muller, it is basically certain that Yingge is ready to leave the team after the contract period, or wait for the mid-season team trade. These two choices are difficult to change at this stage, and for Yingge, what he can do in the future is to play a satisfactory enough performance in the new season, which is a good thing for both the team trade and his own future career development.
Thinking about the future, Ingram's choice is clear. Referring to his technical characteristics last season, combined with the team's situation, the most critical point at the current stage is the three-point shot, whether it is three-point production or shooting efficiency, which is very important for Yingge, which will directly determine his threat on the offensive end without the ball, and it is also the most direct way for him to play value next to Williamson and Murray before he leaves the team.
We take a look at Ingram's three-point performance in five seasons since he arrived with the Pelicans in 2019:
In the 2019-20 season, he averaged 6.2 three-pointers per game, hitting 2.4 times, and shooting 39.1% from three-point range;
In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 6.1 three-pointers per game, hitting 2.3 of them, and shooting 38.1% from three-point range;
In the 2021-22 season, he averaged 4.1 three-pointers per game, hitting 1.3 shots, and a three-point shooting rate of 32.7%;
In the 2022-23 season, he averaged 3.6 three-pointers per game, hitting 1.4 shots, and a three-point shooting rate of 39.%;
In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 3.8 three-pointers per game, hitting 1.3 of them, and shooting 35.5% from three-point range.
Combined with the above data, it is not difficult to see that Ingram's three-point performance is not only fluctuating in efficiency, but also the number of three-point shots has gradually decreased in recent years, and the reasons behind this are not difficult to explore.
In the first two seasons when he came to the Pelicans, the team's guard line was known for his organizational ability, and in the last three seasons, there were basically no well-organized guard players on the team's lineup, similar to McCollum, Graham, Bledsoe and others. On the contrary, Ingram began to take on the team's ball-handling organization responsibilities more, and the three-point opportunities on the off-ball end were naturally much less than before.
This is how the previous five seasons have changed, and as for the new season, even if there is no guarantee of an increase in three-point efficiency, he will at least make a three-point shot recovery. Of course, considering the addition of Murray on the guard line, this should be a high probability thing, if after Murray takes over the guard line ball control task, Yingge's three-point shot still does not change, then the situation may be a little strange. For Detayzhang Murray, although he was not classified as a playmaker in the early days of the Spurs, his assist statistics throughout his career are still very good, the Spurs averaged 9.2 assists per game in their final season, and the average assists per game in the last two seasons with the Hawks have also been stable at more than 6.
At least on paper, Detayzhang Murray is already the best playmaker Ingram has partnered with so far in his career.
Returning to Ingram, as the forward scorer who was originally defined as Durant Jr., the mid-range was still his favorite scoring area last season, ranking fifth in the league in mid-range shots per game, even more than his new teammate Murray, who also loves the mid-range. Therefore, under the above requirements for improving three-point shots, Yingge can selectively reduce the proportion of mid-range shots to make the overall offensive space a little healthier.
Increasing the production of three-point shots and reducing mid-range hard shots, this is the general adjustment of Yingge's offensive end in the new season, which is the initial template for the early stage of his career, and it should not be too difficult to do.
After the offensive end, let's look at the defensive end.
With his size, Ingram's biggest role on the defensive end is in the help position, and we often see him in the rotation to help the defense, and that just needs to be maintained. His problem shortcomings may be more in the single defense with the ball, if you just refer to last season, I personally think that his single defense can even be regarded as the worst level of the team's core rotation.
Poor defensive positioning, a serious lack of explosiveness, and a completely degraded lateral movement speed are almost all the characteristics of his defensive holes, and we can't even imagine that a player with such height and reach conditions can be so embarrassing in individual defense. Of course, such poor defensive performances have a lot to do with personal willingness and attitude to the game, and after he put his energy into defending in the second half of the season, we can clearly see his transformation and prove that he is capable of making an impact on the defensive end. I only hope that this kind of performance can be carried over into the new season, and that I can also raise my value before the trade.
That's all for Ingram's discussion, and although he is likely to be traded away, we still ask him as a Pelicans player, but the content of these discussions is likely to end up not having much to do with the Pelicans. For the team, if they want to really get qualitative change, the new signing Detayzhang Murray may be the key.
With Murray, the team's rotation is about to face adjustments, and in the starting lineup, McCollum is likely to need to be delegated to serve as the team's sixth man, but McCollum is measured by Ingram's adjustment standards, the latter averaged 8.4 three-point shots per game last season, and the three-point shooting rate can reach 42.9%, there is not much room for adjustment, rather than forcibly changing the course, it is better to maintain the status quo.
In contrast, Yingge's ceiling space is larger, and it may also be a personal friendly filter for this player, and he is indeed a little upset about his current state and situation. This should not be the level he should have, he should be able to have better performance and better treatment, especially at the critical juncture of poor performance and about to change teams, if he can change, then there is a chance to hit a higher-level superstar in the future, otherwise, his career is likely to be reduced to a spectator of leftovers.
As for the future, it depends on his own choice, and we will wait and see in the new season.