January 30, 2021
GOD BLESS
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone adversely effected by Hurricane Delta… and My heart goes out to my friends in the Lake Area who endured major destruction at the hands of Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta. My thoughts and prayers are with you. We strongly urge readers of this newsletter to donate to a worthwhile Hurricane oriented charity in the Lake Area.
TODAY’S COLUMNS:
Scott takes a look at LSU Basketball and the New Orleans Pelicans
Dennis is under the weather and is taking this week off
Please scroll down below.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
It seems like every time we need basketball in Louisiana, it lets us down. Football season is now over. LSU did not play in a bowl. The Saints fell short of the level that their talent promised the team would achieve. Both LSU and the Saints are entering a huge transition.
LSU is replacing both coordinators with brand new coordinators. They are young and promising, but with that comes many unanswered questions and an unsure feeling.
The Saints are going to have the most turnover they have had in a while. A new starting quarterback for the first time in the Sean Payton era. Salary cap issues that will require the Saints to allow some productive players to move on to another organization. Again, these changes are unsettling to a Saints fan.
This is the time that we need basketball to give us some good feelings. Give us some relief and some hope for the end of winter. Yet of all times, LSU and the Pelicans are doing anything but giving us hope.
Unfortunately it is the same story for the Pelicans as recent history. The losses to the Clippers, Lakers and Jazz are not the problem. Blowing a 6 point lead at home to Indiana in the last 20 seconds is a huge problem. Losing to Minnesota, who is horrible, is not acceptable. For whatever reason, no matter the coach, no matter the team, no matter the year, the Pelicans are going to get off to a slow start and lose games they have no business losing.
One problem the Pels have is three point shooting. The Pels are 28th in the NBA, avoiding the bottom spot by.01%. At the same time, they are 23rd in defending the three point line.
The inside game cannot dominate enough to overcome these issues. There is no real threat to stretch the floor. There are nine players that play regular minutes and of those nine, I would not guard Hayes, Adams, Zion, or Ball outside the lane.
Lonzo Ball is shooting under 30% from 3 point range but attempting over 7 threes a game. To make it worse, Ball is averaging under 5 assists per game. In the NBA, where an assist can be driving in the paint and lobbing it to Zion or Adams, that is an awfully low number.
With all the draft picks the Pels have, and large number of guards, it is time for David Griffin to make a move and put some players around Zion that can make an open shot. Nico Melli has done that in the past, so it would be a good idea to give him some playing time too. Especially, considering that every game there is half a quarter or more where the Pelicans cannot put the ball in the goal.
Meanwhile, LSU is ranked 152 in three point shooting. LSU is not a big team and shoots a lot of threes, so being #152 is not going to get the job done. Right now, LSU has too many ball stoppers who just search out their own shot. Just because a player is capable of making a shot on two or three people, does not mean he should.
For some reason, Wade has shortened the bench recently. I know the tendency is to go longer with your better players when tough times hit. But, some energy off the bench would be nice. I may be biased after coaching against Jalen Cook for four years. Coach Wade has talked about how Jalen can really guard on the ball, and I would like to see him get a more of a shot.
I have more confidence LSU will turn it around than the Pels. In college basketball it is almost never too late. Just find a way to get in the Big Dance and anything can happen. The Pels on the other hand need to make something happen fast on the court or make moves off the court to avoid wasting another year.
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DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS ARE A JON FINE PRODUCTION ON FAMILY RADIO, 91.9 FM, BATON ROUGE and JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS THE OWNER OF AN EBAY STORE. ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, SELLS SPORTS PUBLICATIONS. YOU CAN LINK TO IT BY VISITING JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-SULPHUR/LAKE CHARLES.