Pelicans play-in tournament shootaround update: Defense at forefront of needed turnaround from Sunday

With four Los Angeles Lakers starters scoring at least 19 points and the visitors shooting 55 percent from the field in Sunday’s regular season finale, seventh-seeded New Orleans understands that it must perform considerably better defensively in Tuesday’s rematch (6:30 p.m. Central, TNT, WRNO 99.5 FM, KGLA 105.7 FM), the opener of the Western Conference play-in tournament.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Pelicans starting wing and top defender Herb Jones said after Tuesday’s shootaround. “We watched the film, talked about the adjustments we needed to make. Tonight we plan on going out and executing the game plan.”

At least on paper, the Pelicans are in much better position to prepare this time, having gone through a full practice Monday and this morning's shootaround. That wasn’t possible on the weekend, because the team did not arrive from a cross-country flight Saturday until after 9 p.m. Then Sunday was a 2:30 p.m. tip, allowing for only a walkthrough before the game.

Asked if it was beneficial preparation-wise to play the same opponent in consecutive games, Jones responded, “For sure. And I think playing the same team, you kind of get to rest more, because you don’t have to watch as much film. If it were another team, we’d have to get a whole new game plan and watch a ton of film. So I think it helps.”

Other notes from shootaround:

Jones on New Orleans committing 19 turnovers Sunday: “(On) a lot of them we were aggressive. Turnovers are part of the game. Tonight I think we’ll do a better job of not turning the ball over. (But) as long as we stay aggressive, try to make the right plays, I think turnovers will come with that.”

LA LAKERS (47-35, 8TH SEED IN WEST)

Sunday win at New Orleans

D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Anthony Davis

Notes: Davis is questionable with back spasms. James (ankle) is probable, while Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) and Christian Wood (knee) are out. … This combination went 18-6 in the regular season, one of 19 starting lineups used by Darvin Ham. … James led the Lakers in scoring this season vs. the Pelicans in a 3-1 season series, averaging 28.5 points. Davis was second at 21.5, while Russell and Reaves both put up 21.0. Only six Lakers players appeared in all four games vs. New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS (49-33, 7TH SEED IN WEST)

Sunday loss vs. LA Lakers

CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas

Notes: New Orleans reported no injuries. … This combination went 25-16, one of 16 starting lineups used by Willie Green. New Orleans went 44-25 when it had at least four of these five starters available. … Williamson led the Pelicans in scoring this season vs. the Lakers, averaging 20.3 points. McCollum was next at 18.3, followed by Ingram’s 17.5. Seven Pelicans players appeared in all four games vs. the Lakers. … New Orleans went 38-18 when Alvarado played during the regular season, with three of those losses coming against LA.

TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
As Green noted following Sunday’s loss, New Orleans has been effective at reducing turnovers throughout the season, particularly after the All-Star break, but the weekend defeat to the Lakers included 19 turnovers. That was costly in more ways than one – the Pelicans were held under their scoring average by tallying 108 points (despite shooting well from the field and three-point range), and the Lakers benefited by converting 27 points off turnovers.
PROTECT THE PAINT
It’s very rare to see any NBA team ring up 50 points in the paint during one half of basketball, but that’s what the Lakers did Sunday, constantly getting to the rim for dunks and layups. The Pelicans cleaned that up a bit in the second half, but still were outscored in the paint by a decisive 68-42 margin. LA finished the regular season averaging 55.6 paint points, trailing only Indiana (57.9).
MATCHUP TO WATCH
It’s not the playoffs yet, but Tuesday marks Williamson’s first NBA postseason game of his four-year career. A win would mean the two-time All-Star and popular fan favorite makes his debut in the playoffs Saturday at Denver. Meanwhile, James is coming off a Sunday triple-double and already has 282 playoff games under his belt, the equivalent of roughly 3 1/2 full seasons.