Even if New Orleans were at full strength, a six-game stretch bridging March and April figured to be a major challenge, given a schedule filled with elite opponents. After subtracting the Pelicans’ best playmaker and second-leading scorer – along with the second unit’s engine – perhaps it should be less surprising that the team’s offensive efficiency has dipped to just 16th in the NBA since March 22. New Orleans (45-30) is now in sixth place in the Western Conference after going 3-3 without Brandon Ingram – and 1-2 without reserve catalyst Jose Alvarado – putting its pursuit of a top-six seed in jeopardy. Ingram and Alvarado only did minimal work during Tuesday’s practice, making it imperative that the Pelicans figure out how to improve their attack during important Wednesday and Friday home games vs. Orlando and San Antonio, respectively.
“Our margin for error is a little smaller when we don’t have Brandon and Jose,” third-year head coach Willie Green said after Tuesday’s practice.
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In consecutive games last week vs. Milwaukee and Boston without either player, New Orleans shot under 40 percent from the field, the first time that’s happened in 2023-24. The Pelicans still managed to beat the Bucks by holding them to 100 points, but they’ve had at least one low-scoring half in the majority of their recent games. The next opponent, Orlando, boasts the NBA’s second-ranked defense (110.4 rating).
“Not having them at this point in the season is tough,” Green said of Ingram and Alvarado. “We need those guys back. However, our (available players) understand and know how I feel about them – we have more than enough to go after these (opponents), compete and give ourselves an opportunity to win. But we have to recognize the margin for error is smaller.”
“Nobody feels sorry for us,” reserve center Larry Nance Jr. said. “Neither do we. We’re just going to keep plugging away.”
New Orleans has gone 7-5 in the dozen games Ingram has missed this season, but just 2-3 over this recent span vs. teams over .500. The Pelicans are 34-17 when Alvarado plays this season (compared to 11-13 when he doesn’t). The point guard’s impact on the squad has been even more drastic since the All-Star break, at 10-4 with Alvarado but 2-4 without him. In addition to not having Ingram’s contributions, his exit meant moving top bench scorer Trey Murphy out of a very successful reserve lineup. Nance indicated that the group will need to collectively find sources of offense.
“You took away our offensive hub as a bench,” Nance said of Alvarado being sidelined. “(Offensive production has) to come from a concerted effort from everybody. It’s going to be (a) different (top point scorer) every game – there’s not a natural (scorer like) Trey Murphy on the bench anymore.”