Behind Lonzo Ball and at the guidance of Alvin Gentry, the New Orleans Pelicans have built an offense predicated on getting the ball upcourt quickly and taking advantage of defenses not yet set. Only the Bucks play at a quicker pace than the Pelicans on the year and only four teams score more fast break points per game.
Unsurprisingly, since Zion Williamson’s arrival, both those figures have improved as the Pelicans are third in fast break points while averaging nearly two more possessions per game.
But, as mentioned, much of the credit goes to Gentry’s system and Ball’s skillset. In a recent film breakdown as part of the Pelicans Playback series, Gentry looked at various plays from the Pelicans’ win over the Blazers in late February. During that breakdown, Gentry talked about Ball’s ability to push the ball.
“What we want to do is let our defense fuel our offense…One of the things Lonzo is very, very good at, as good as anybody in the NBA, is that once he catches that ball in his hands, his first look is to look upcourt to see if we have any kind of an advantage so that we can throw the ball long and come up with an easy basket.”
There is no statistical way to measure Ball’s hit-ahead passes and their effectiveness. The closest is the measure of passes per game and, according to NBA Stats, Ball is fifth in the league in passes per game. And because of his playstyle, only the Warriors make more passes per game than the Pelicans.
Like previously seen with the Lakers and now the Pelicans, Ball’s ability to get the ball upcourt quickly is a massive advantage for his side. He is undoubtedly one of the best guards in the league at pushing the tempo and the Pelicans are thriving because of it.
