The New Orleans Pelicans won their second straight game on Sunday evening with a 114-104 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The game marked a homecoming for Pelicans rookie guard Jeremiah Fears, a Chicago native, and with his parents courtside he put on a show. The rookie guard finished the night tied for a game-high 20 points, along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals on an efficient 7/13 from the field.
This game once again reminded us how bright the future is for the Pelicans with Fears at the helm, running the show from the point of attack. Fears was in attack mode all night long and got what he wanted with ease, especially downhill. His quick first step and ability to push the pace in transition remain his strongest qualities.
I also felt like in this win, Fears established what his go-to shot could be for the future. All season he has punished teams with the one-legged fade, and in this win he continued to show so much confidence in taking and making that shot. When I saw a rookie late in the shot clock, with his team behind him, towards it with confidence a single-leg fadeaway gives me confidence that this should be a chance we see him take more in the future.
Fears aside, this was an overall excellent team win for the Pelicans.
The rest of the team
Trey Murphy III remains one efficient killer from the floor for this team. He recorded his fourth straight game shooting above 57 percent from the field on Sunday night, finishing the game at 14/8 from the field. Murphy III’s incredible shooting scored another 20 points. He continues to show why he is the backbone of this team’s offense.
Zion Williamson returned from injury earlier than expected and played under a minutes restriction. Interim head coach James Borrego felt the best way to maximize those minutes was to have him come off the bench. This was an interesting experiment because it felt like Williamson could do that focus on scoring. I wouldn’t mind seeing this concept tested further in the future, especially if Z uses minimal constraint.
Derik Queen, who logged just under 25 minutes in this match, which is a low for him in the team’s last seven games, was phenomenal in the first half. His chemistry with Murphy III on cuts, screen-and-rolls and transition is probably the best on-field chemistry among all the tandems on this team. He had six assists in this, but also five turnovers, as Chicago did a good job of forcing bad decisions on him.
Yves Missi only logged eleven minutes, but had eight rebounds in that short time. He still needs to play with more control, but his motor skills are second to none.
Karlo Matković didn’t see the floor for the first 36 minutes, but was ready when his number was called and played the entire fourth quarter. While he wasn’t efficient and shot 2/5 from the floor, he did give the team a different outlook from the five, especially in transition, because of his speed and athleticism.
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