The New Orleans Pelicans have lost four straight games in their New Year’s Eve matchup against the Chicago Bulls. A common trend in this series is the Pelicans getting killed on the glass and giving up too many second chance points. Over the past four games, the Pelicans rank second in the NBA in offensive rebounds allowed, averaging 15.5 per game; they have also allowed an average of 23.3 second-chance points per game.
Of New Orleans’ last four games, there was one in which they gave up just 10 offensive rebounds and just 13 second-chance points. That happened Monday night against the New York Knicks, and the biggest difference from a lineup perspective from the other three games was that Kevon Looney played.
When the Pelicans signed Looney, it was seen as a somewhat splashy move for the franchise, bringing in a three-time NBA champion with the expectation that he could be the team’s starting center. That vision hasn’t quite come to fruition yet, but Looney proved against New York that he can still bring a lot to this team rotation as a big man.
Looney does the things no one else wants to do
Over Looney’s 10-year NBA career, he’s built a reputation as a dirty-work player: someone who taps the ball in the air four times and still lands the rebound. He’s also someone who prides himself on putting up high-quality screens that generate countless open looks. This style of play is rare in the modern NBA, and Looney is definitely the only player on this Pelicans roster who brings those things.
We saw against New York that he grabbed nine rebounds in just 24 minutes, five of which came on the offensive glass. He also provided some elite rim protection with two blocks and a plethora of strong plays around the basket. Looney’s playing style also makes him a great fit next to Pelicans rookie Derik Queen.
Queen is slightly undersized, standing only 6 feet tall to play center spot, making playing him alongside Looney a good fit. Queen thrives offensively and excels at scoring and facilitating for others, making Looney the perfect complementary player for him as he does everything Queen doesn’t, such as providing rim protection and being an elite screener.
Looney’s experience playing alongside top stars throughout his career also helps, as he knows where to position himself on the offensive end to stay out of the way of the stars while remaining effective as a rebounder.
The advanced numbers of the Knicks game doesn’t fully support the idea that these two sharing the court is a good thing, as they had a net rating of -7.5 in the seven minutes they played together. That said, the eye test said otherwise.
So it will be interesting to see if interim head coach James Borrego inserts Looney into the team’s rotation on Wednesday night in the Windy City, or if he views his performance against the Knicks as a one-trick pony.
#solution #Pelicans #biggest #problem #hiding #plain #sight