The New Orleans Pelicans can attack opponents in a variety of ways. Building a wall in the paint only works so well against an elite passer like Zion Williamson. Brandon Ingram can pick anyone apart from the midrange areas. CJ McCollum’s near career-high in three-point volume has led to one of his most efficient seasons on record. Each of the Big Three’s skill sets fit in the space-and-pace era. The same cannot be said for Jonas Valanciunas and this limits how the Lithuanian can be deployed, at least by one very important opinion.
Willie Green has been humble amid a near-historic season for the franchise. He also adamantly doubled down on the starting big man’s recent usage rate after the last practice in New Orleans before flying to face the Brooklyn Nets.
“Yeah, (Valanciunas) is still a large part of what we do but the way the game goes it becomes a small game,” Green explained. “(It’s) fast, dynamic, guys all over the floor. There are moments where he can take advantage of a team like that then there are some times we like a different group on the floor.”
Green played 731 games in the NBA and is now in his third year as a head coach. Valanciunas is a known commodity no matter where someone might sit in the arena, much less on an NBA bench. The Lithuanian big man brings a steady voice and consistent professionalism to the locker room regardless of the minutes played on a given night.
There were no worries about Valanciunas after playing only seven minutes in a road loss to the Indiana Pacers or 15 minutes in a home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Green, Valanciunas, and the rest of the locker room stayed the course charted all season long.
“Block out the noise. Concentrate on what we can control. We can control our preparation, how hard we go in practice, watching film. It’s really just take it one game at a time. That’s the key for us. I know it’s a cliche but it’s really how you have to look at this. Take it a game at a time. Win the game in front of you. Then prepare for the next one.”
Pelicans not changing rotations for rest’s sake
CJ McCollum thanked the basketball scheduling gods for a nice three-week stretch after the All-Star break littering with multiple days off between games. The Pelicans will play every day, or every other day, for the final 15 games of the regular season. Green was adamant to the point of laughter during the post-game press session when asked about changing up the rotations in order to rest guys for the NBA Playoffs.
“No,” Green stated, shaking off the question.
“No,” he doubled down when the question was rephrased. “Not at all. We like what we are doing right now. We are going to stick with it. If something happens where a guy can’t go and we need to limit his minutes we will. But, for right now this is what it is. It’s high time, and guys understand, it is next man up mentality. Those things will happen where, like it happened the other day. Herb (Jones) and Larry (Nance Jr.) couldn’t go. (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl) and (Jordan Hawkins) stepped in right away, and they were ready to play.”
Brooklyn is a “team that plays small” per Green’s scouting report. Next up on the upcoming road trip are the Orlando Magic (Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.), the Miami Heat (Bam Adebayo), and the Detroit Pistons (Jalen Duren). That variance in opponent gives Green and the Pelicans a good canvas to experiment against Eastern Conference teams with worse records. It will also give Western Conference foes a good look into how Valanciunas will be deployed in the NBA Playoffs.
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