On the latest Pelicans Podcast presented by SeatGeek, Joe Cardosi is joined by Thunder sideline reporter Nick Gallo (5:14) to talk about OKC’s success this season, the team culture and future, plus how they plan to deal with the defense of Herb Jones and the offense of Brandon Ingram in their NBA Play-In Tournament game against New Orleans.
Pelicans team reporter Erin Summers (23:46) also shares an update from shootaround and what she expects to see from the Pels in this postseason matchup.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome into the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Geeg,
a podcast dedicated to everything you need to know about
the squad. I mean physically, I'm fine, Nah, It's just
a matter of, like when I feel like Zion Son.
It's just a matter of when I feel like Zion.
The New Orleans Pelicans podcast starts right now. Welcome to
(00:31):
the Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Geek. I am Joe Cardosi,
once again not joined by the mending Jim Kenhofer, as
he continues to become stronger, faster so that he will
come back a menacing presence on the Pelicans podcast. We
(00:53):
look forward to his return and we fear it, but
looking ahead to things that I am looking forward to
and not afraid of. Tonight's match up against the Oklahoma
City Thunder, a scrappy underdog team maybe a bit ahead
of schedule, reminds me a bit of our Pelicans. We're
gonna talk to Nick Gallos, sideline reporter for Bally's Sports
(01:15):
covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. No one better to get
the report on the team we are facing tonight than
a fella who sees them constantly on the sidelines, breaking
down the ends and out looking forward to the conversation
with Nick Gallo there also, as I record, this shoot
around is happening, So once that ends, gonna bring Aaron Summers,
(01:38):
our own team report or our own sideline reporter in
for a little scoop of what she saw a shoot
around and what she expects to see tonight. Gonna be
interesting stuff, so stay tuned for that as Aaron Summers
will join me once she's done with her shoot around duties.
But we got to get to the big news. I
guess the biggest news other than the game at hand tonight,
(02:00):
And that's what you heard in the intro to today's podcast.
Zion Williamson has spoken. Finally. The people have been asking
for it, trying to figure out through all kinds of
conspiracy theories when Zion might talk. There is nothing else
to conjecture about. Zion said it himself. He he doesn't
(02:21):
feel like himself. He feels fine physically, but he doesn't
feel like himself. Now that's a nebulous subject that all
kinds of people can have all kinds of answers about.
But the thing that you can never know about someone
else is how it feels to be in their skin.
Being consistently injured on the same leg is of course
(02:42):
gonna make you trepidacious. And a bunch of fans are saying, oh, well,
of course, a seventy percent Zion Williamson or a fifty
percent Zion Williamson is better than anything else you tried
out there. But what you don't understand is if Zion
comes back, the focal point of your offense is going
to become, to some degree, Zion Williamson. And if he
isn't acting like himself, if he isn't making the plays
(03:04):
that you expect of him, when he becomes a focal
point of your offense upon his arrival, of course that
will hobble the team. Of course it will. So Zion
isn't incorrect when he says he doesn't want to hurt
the team by not being able to play like himself.
We saw a little bit with Brandon Ingram when he
came back from that toe injury. Took him a bit
(03:24):
to really look like himself, to look like the confident
scorer that we know right now is averaging about thirty
points a game. It's tough. It's tough, but the good
news is that he does say he feels good physically.
That's step one. ESPNS Andrew Lopez asking Zion would you
be able to go in a first round series, and
(03:46):
Zion answering if I feel like Zion, Zion will continue
to rehabilitate, continue doing on the court activities, and we
wish him the best. Now onto the task at hand.
Before we can look ahead to anything that we might
see or do in the first round of a playoff series,
the Pelicans have to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's
(04:08):
when or go home. This is it. SGA has given
the Pelicans fits, as he has given the entire league
fits this entire season. You know, they're sort of playing
with house money right now. A lot of people think
they're early to maybe this play in series playoff contention,
so you don't know how loose they're gonna play. Now.
Whoever moves on from this game will face a hobbled
(04:31):
Timberwolves team at Minnesota. So and honestly, the Lakers didn't
look that great playing against those Timberwolves, so either way,
you know that would have fallen the Pelicans. In my heart,
looked like the odds might be pretty good to continue
moving on again. If you beat this Oklahoma City Thunder squad,
(04:54):
and we're not looking ahead, we are locked in. What
is this Thunder team? How are they gonna play the Ellicans? Well,
let's get the scoop from mister Nick Gallos, sideline reporter
for Ballet's Sports covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. Let's speak
to the Oklahoma City Thunders. Nick Gallo joining us on
(05:20):
the Pelicans podcast, sideline reporter for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Who the Pelicans are facing tonight? No one better to
get the scouting report from mister Nick Gallo. Give him
a follow on Twitter at Nick A Gallo? Nick? How
are you doing before this big matchup? Doing great? Just
enjoying your city of New Orleans, had had a night
(05:44):
dinner last night and looking forward to which would be
a really exciting matchup here and a new experience for
the Thunder and obviously something that the New Orleans the
Pelicans is familiar with here in the plan. Yeah, and
hopefully dinner treated you well last night. I know New
Orleans food is always a treat for those visiting, but
you know, as a Pelicans fan, we want that to
(06:06):
be the best thing y'all enjoy here selfishly, But you know,
y'all are a scrappy team, and I have friends in
Oklahoma City who I talk to about basketball all the time,
and it's funny because you guys remind me of us
in a lot of ways. You're a young team, you're
building with a young core that's been built in house
(06:28):
for the most part, and you're sort of ahead of schedule,
it almost seems like and maybe surprising people with where
you're at this early, especially with no chet Holmgren, etc.
So you know, what would you say is the defining
part of your team's success? I mean, obviously you point
to SGA, but what where would you say this team's
(06:49):
success so early on is coming from. Well, Joe, I
would say that really the success, the results are a
product of the process that the Thunder has engaged did
on a daily basis. They really have not been focused
on the outcomes. What they've been focused on is the
daily work, and they've really tried to keep their head
down and be focused on the values and the things
(07:13):
that eventually go into winning as opposed to maybe chasing
a win on a night in, night out basis. And
you know, for as you're as you're talking about these
young cores, you know, New Orleans can say the same
things that you know, there are times where the team
is making progress, but the results aren't necessarily showing on
the scoreboard, and there's there's not always a direct one
(07:34):
to one ratio there with the way that guys are improving,
the work that's being put in, and you know, the
results coming on the scoreboard. But over the course of time,
the Thunder is betting on that process playing out and
bearing fruits. So I think, you know, the that's sort
of the bigger picture aspect of why the Thunder has
(07:55):
been able to, you know, have some good results in
the standings on the scoreboard. But more than that, I
think it's it's just the players and the work that
they've put in and the connection that they've made. This
has been a really tight knit team. Um it starts
with a leader like Shay who plays with such great restraint.
And that's not usually a word that you hear with
(08:18):
a thirty point per game scorer, but um, that's one
of that's one of Shay's best attributes is the ability
to kind of really calibrate his aggressiveness versus you know,
how to make sure that he's playing inside the team
concept and knowing when you know he's got to kind
of push things a little bit more, but he never
really plays outside of himself or outside of the team,
(08:41):
and I think that has a trickle down effect as well. Yeah,
and that's the thing. You know, what you're getting out
of Shae giljis Alexander. You know, he's not gonna be
shooting a bunch of threes. He's going to keep driving
to the rack and score a bunch of points. And
so for the Pelicans, it's just an interesting defensive assignment.
You know. You for the Pelicans, you've got to hope
that Jonas and Herb can sort of build a wall,
(09:02):
but then you got to worry about foul trouble. So honestly,
you know, how do you keep from the Oklahoma City perspective?
How do you keep Herb Jones off of SGA and
keep him effective? Well, the Thunder has been focused all
season long, and in particular in some of these New
Orleans matchups, just given how much Herb and then you
know a second defender will come over and double team Shay.
(09:25):
The Thunder is really focused on making quick early decisions
with the ball, getting it out, being able to play
four on three on the backside and executing the you know,
five man playmaker offense that the Thunder hats. And that's
really what OKAYC has tried to execute on all season,
is that all five guys can be a threat to pass, shoot,
(09:46):
dribble and you know, make the next play for them
for the next guy. We've seen so many backdoor cuts,
We've seen so many drives to the rim. The Thunder
leads the NBA and drives and well, you know, a
large percentage of those are sha you know, out of
the sixty five drives a game, about twenty four of
them are from Shape, but that means there's another forty
or so from everybody else. And and so what you're
(10:09):
getting from the Thunder is opportunities on the back side
of the play if they can make quick decisions and
then attack out of them against the length of New Orleans,
which is no easy task. It's one of the reasons
why the Pelicans have been one of the better defensive
teams all season and are able to swarm people with
their lengths and size and are able to make up
ground on the back side. I mean think that's something
(10:30):
that the Pelicans kind of are counting on is that
you know, they can recover, they can get back with
quickness and with lengths and you know, put pressure on
main guys and then try to rush the secondary playmakers
on the back side. Yeah, I mean you got to
figure that Herb is going to be picking up SGA
full court. He fights through screens really well, one of
(10:50):
the best in the league at that. And so how
important are J Dub and Giddy going to be to
your team? I mean, do they have to be lights
out if SJA is having a tough offensive? How important
are they going to be for your success in this game? Well,
I don't think it's it's necessarily you know, on one
or two guys. I think the most important thing and
(11:12):
UM Thunder coach Mark Dagnald was say thing this same
thing is that UM their five man unit executes at
a high level. So that doesn't necessarily mean that it's
got to be Um Giddy or Jayalen Williams J Dubb.
That is, you know, attacking the rim over and over
again and scoring you know X number of points. It's
just that the Thunder has got to be able to
execute quickly, make sharp decisions and you know, find that
(11:36):
next guy. And of course you know shots going down
is going to play an impact in this game, sure,
as it does in every single game. Um. But you're right,
you know, with a guy like Herb Jones. Um. And
this goes back to kind of what I was saying
about restraint, is like Jay is not going to force
it just because you know, the numbers on the on
the box score aren't looking what they typically like, what
they typically do. It's up to the Thunder to leverage
(11:59):
that pressure from from Herb and leverage the double team
that New Orleans throws at him into good offense. You know.
And I'm interested in what those Thunder rotations are going
to be sort of like the Pelicans, y'all don't have
a ton of playoff experience, especially with this group you
have now, So it's going to be the first sort
of rotational minutes in the playoffs or play in for
(12:22):
this squad. You know, who are the eight or nine
guys that you expect to really be important, you know
going forward in this game. And you know, whoever wins
this game would see a hobbled Timberwolves team. So you know,
you don't want to look ahead, but who are those
guys that you see as important rotational pieces that maybe
casual fans or maybe Pelicans fans may not know. Well.
(12:44):
The fascinating thing about the Thunder is that there's really been,
you know, throughout the season, like thirteen guys that have
been in the rotation. And I think that's been sort
of a strategic advantage for the Thunder throughout the course
of the season, that that opponents don't always necessarily know
who's going to be in the rotation from night tonight. Now,
over the last few weeks, the starting lineup has settled
(13:04):
a little bit more into both Jalen Williams's, who are
both rookies starting alongside Shay Josh Giddy and Low Dort.
And Dort obviously will play a huge role in this game,
getting defensive assignments on either CJ. McCollum or Brandon Ingram.
Probably we'll see time on both of those guys throughout
the course of this game. And Dort's ability, kind of
(13:26):
like Jones, to be a defensive stopper. We've seen that
throughout the course of his career. He's had some high
profile opportunities in the playoffs, that seven game series with
the Houston Rockets and the job he did on James Harden.
But each each player is totally different. You know, CJ.
McCollum and Brandon Ingram are two totally different assignments for
(13:46):
a guy like Dort And so that's why a guy
like Jaylen Williams J. Dubb Is Broke probably going to
be a big factor there. And then off the bench
for the Thunder, you know, you'll see a variety of
guys and it would be fascinating to see how the
Thunder deploys them. Isaiah has been one of the best
three point shooters in the NBA all season long, kind
of right in the top ten for most of the year.
(14:06):
Then you know a veteran presence in Dario Sarich, who
you know, against this New Orleans team that has size
and physicality upfront, you might need some of that from
a guy like Starich. Aaron Wiggins has really come on
as a second year steel really from the second round
last year in the twenty twenty one draft, and he's
(14:27):
just been kind of this sensational role player. I mean,
he's not gonna um value with box scoring numbers necessarily,
but he's an extremely efficient player in his role. Shooting
him a little bit below forty percent from free and
just one of those guys that can can kind of
cut and fill in and glue in. He's a solid
defender two at about six foot six, So those guys
(14:49):
will certainly factor in to this one. And Um, Okay
Se does a really nice job of sort of rotating
those lead playmakers in and out of the lineup. Um
with Shay, you know, playing good, good solid chunk of
the first quarter, with Josh and Josh Giddey and Jub
coming out you know at some point midway through that
first quarter, and then then Gay and Jadub will come
(15:10):
back in in the second quarters typically and kind of
take over those minutes while Shay is on the bench.
So Um, you'll you'll see other guys. You'll see Whinney
Waters the third potentially who's a knockdown three point shooter
as well another Steele who was a basically a tryout
player for the Okasey Blue the G League team, and
has worked his way up to a full time contract.
(15:31):
So really special story there. The guy is from Norman, Oklahoma,
and Um was playing for the Enid Outlaws professionally after
right after college at Oklahoma State. So um, that's that's
a guy to keep an eye on, just as a
fun story. On the thunderside. Yeah, you know, we've got
our Josie Alvarado on our side. He's our scrappy underdog story.
(15:52):
A guy that you know, just just walking around talking
to Pelicans, fans, talking to people in the building, that
that many people are are strangely afraid of is Isaiah
Joe because of specifically his three point shooting, because the
Pells have had trouble just keeping pace when the when
the shots aren't falling. Sometimes with three point shooting teams,
when when it's raining threes, we can sort of fall
(16:15):
behind because we're either trading ones for threes or when
you look at this game, it's it's two really tough defenses.
I would say a lot of the way that both
these teams got here is through defense. So do you
expect a low scoring game? A lot of people are
going to sort of take the under on this one.
Do you expect this one to be sort of a
grinded out game? All you expect it to be one
(16:36):
of those games where you know, Isaiah Joe and some
of those other contributors are raining threes and the Pells
are gonna have to keep pace. Well. In today's NBA game,
you know, a low scoring game is somewhere in the
you know, one oh five territory, right, so everything is
totally shifted on the scoring front. I will say I
think that these two teams do match up pretty well
(16:57):
with each other defensively, and we're just talking about the
ways in which New Orleans can really be a tough
matchup for for any lead playmaker, given the way that
they can swarm and double team and trap and then
get out of that. And then on the other side,
you know, the Thunder has a couple wing defenders whom
you know can provide that presence against McCollum and Ingram,
(17:18):
And as you mentioned, you know, at times for both
of these teams, you know, shots have not fallen from
the outside from some of those role players, and then
some nights they have. And so what makes this so
fascinating in a one and done environment is supposed to
in a series where inevitably one game, you know somebody
is going to going to go off and have a
(17:39):
really hot shooting night er or you know, the dynamic
is going to be a certain way in game two
that it's not in game four. This is a one
shot deal and so it's just going to be really
fascinating to see, you know, which of these subplots bubbles
up to the surface in this game tonight. And I
would guarantee that one of them, whatever those subplots are,
(18:00):
is going to be very unexpected and something that we
did not talk about here today so far. Yes, yeah,
that expect the unexpected. That's basically the scoop from today,
you know. And just before I'll let you go, you know,
we've got our own guy that we hope to see
on the floor soon, and that's Zion Williamson. But you've
got Chet Holmgren. Chet Holmgren. Sorry, it's hard to pronounce there,
(18:20):
but you know, one of the funniest things I've seen
on the Internet recently was the fan reaction from OKAC
Thunder fans to the bulked up, facial haired Chet Holmgren,
who is you know, rehabbing, but it looks like he
is growing up and bulking up before everyone's eyes. What's
been the fan reaction to seeing him? And how voracious
(18:42):
is the want for news for and about him? Because
we know everything here every time we check Twitter, it's
someone just being like, what's the latest on Zion? Two
seconds later, what's the latest on Zion? Is it basically
the same thing with Chet? There No, I do feel
for the New Orleans fans in the sense that, um,
you know, Zion has played this season and there's been
(19:03):
this sort of back and forth and obviously you just
feel feel terrible for Zion that he's had some of
these um injuries situations continue to pop up. But with Chet,
I think it was it's been a more clear cuts
thing from the beginning of the season that the fan
base um was kind of you know, repeatedly told like
he Chet is not coming back this year. And so
I think that's that's allowed for Chet first of all,
(19:27):
to be able to get his body right, get his foot,
you know, get his his foot heeld and get himself
um back to one without the pressure of when is
he coming? You know what what's going on and um.
And so that's that's been really nice that he's been
able to kind of work diligently in the background but
still be connected to the team without tons and tons
(19:48):
of questions um you know, coming and left and right,
and not being kind of a constant topic in the
media and with the fan base. But but it is
cool that you know, there is still a nice connection
with the fan base, and I think a lot of
excitement for next season. Um. Chet actually gave a thank
you address before game number eighty two on Sunday to
(20:10):
the fans in Paycon Center, and that was a really
nice moment for you know, Chet to kind of uh,
you know, send off what could could be the last
game of the season in Paycon for the thunder Um
and you know, give a little little pease, a little
excitement for next year to remind the fans. Hey, you know, uh,
all all, assuming everything goes well this summer, you know,
I'm I'm going to be ready to rock in October.
(20:32):
And that's why I think you guys are a dangerous
team because it feels like you're playing with house money
right now, being in the play in tournament right now,
because you've got up to eight first round picks still coming,
You've got Chet Holmgren coming back next season. It's going
to be a very interesting offseason. Win or lose this game, uh,
(20:53):
for the for your team, I'm going to be curious
to check up on the news on you guys. Well,
I think that's a really important point that you make,
and there is no there's no schedule, there's no timeline.
But the thunder is the youngest team in the NBA
this season. They're the second youngest team in NBA history,
only to last year's thunder team. And so for okay
(21:15):
see to be just even getting these experiences right now
is a massive win. You know, there's no there's no
internal expectations heading into any year, including next year. And
I don't think that anybody is under the impression that
this team continues to grow and mature and develop, that
it's just going to be this straight line and that
(21:37):
each year there's going to be more wins than there
was a year before, and that there's going to be
more you know, postseason success than there was a year before.
That's just I mean, as as New Orleans fans know too,
that's just not how this works, right, And so I
think that's a really great reminder for fans in any
market to enjoy what you have when you have it,
because you just never know what might happen the next year.
(21:59):
And I think obviously there's a lot to really look
forward to in in Thunderland, but um, there's an attitude
of you know, not taking any of that for granted
and really being diligent on the same process that has
yielded the results this season and over the last few seasons,
that process has been the same. You know, this team
has not done anything differently this year compared to last
(22:22):
year or the year before other than the results looking
different on the scoreboard. And so I think that's a
really important reminder for you know, the Thunder fan base
and fan bases around the league when they're kind of
looking at these these situations, is you know, this is
a long journey that actually has has roots back in
the you know, twenty twenty twenty one season, and um,
(22:47):
the lessons that we're learned. Then this is now three
years of shagloss Alexander being the top last guy on
a scouting report, and so they might not have you know,
postseason experience, but they do have a lot of experience, um,
playing other in some continuity building now, so certainly exciting,
but this is the time where where the focus and
(23:09):
the diligence has to be extremely high because there's there's
no guarantees. Yeah, learning how to win is important, especially
for such a young squad. The Pelicans know that as well.
Like I said, your team reminds me of us, and
I feel like in the next several years we're gonna
be seeing a lot of each other in the playoffs
and it's gonna be interesting. So good luck to your
(23:30):
squad again, hopefully not too much good luck, but interesting
scouting report. Gonna be an interesting game tonight. Super excited
to see it and I'll probably see you around the
arena there, Nick, Yeah, see you down over there. Thanks
for having me on. Oh, thank you so much to
(23:51):
mister Nick Gallo for giving the report. And you know what,
joining me fresh off getting the scoop is the intrepid
errand some give her a follow at Aaron E. Summers
for all the good info. Aaron, you know you're out there,
you got to see shoot around and whatnot. What info
can you give us? How did everyone look out there? Well,
(24:13):
I'll say the past two days, yesterday very focused practice
on the thunder, what we've done well against them, what
we've not done well against them in the past four matchups,
and same goes for today. There were several times throughout
practice and shoot around that Willie Green stopped the team
and said that's not good enough. We need to make
(24:34):
sure that we're developing habits. The way that you practice
will show up on the court. So he was really
nailing in things like staying wide on defense, making sure
that you're creating a wall, making sure that you're practicing
like that with the same effort and intensity that it's
going to take in this game tonight, in your practice
and in shoot around today. So that was interesting. He
(24:56):
was really emphasizing the effort that it was going to
take at all times and everything that you were doing,
and the pells fans like to hear that right now. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean he stopped back to several times, which is
more involvement than I've seen from him. So you can
kind of see the heightened level that he's taking this too,
(25:18):
and his approach to it. At the end of shoot
around today, you know, he did tell the team that
this is a huge opportunity in front of them tonight.
He said he's very proud of them for getting to
this point despite everything that's happened this season, and that
it should be a lot of fun tonight at the SKC,
that the atmosphere is going to be great. I mean,
we know what it was like last year during the
(25:39):
play in and I think they're expecting the home court
advantage to be a factor tonight, and I do too.
I feel like for a bit there it seemed like
we were a bit deflated, maybe coming off of that
final game. Fans didn't seem that up. But as things
are building, I feel like the wind is starting to
get in their sales a little bit, and you're hoping
(26:00):
it's going to be a raucous crowd. We need you
out there now. Larry Nance questionable for this game, not
sure if he's going to play or not. So that means,
you know, when you're when you're shorthanded, it's center, you
might see some some different rotational minutes at that center position.
What do you think we might see there? I think
that you're going to see herb at the five a
(26:20):
little bit tonight. That's something we've seen throughout the season
as needed, depending on who are playing, matchups and size
that kind of stuff. But I think we're going to
see a lot of Jackson Hayes. I think he may
be the one that comes in in that role if
Larry Nance is unable to go tonight. Neil Larry has
been playing through injury and then kind of adding to
(26:41):
that in that last game of the regular season against
the Timberwolves. You know, we'll see if he's able to
go as you mentioned listed as questionable, but if not,
rotation wise, I would expect to see Jackson Hayes getting
some of those minutes. He's athletic, you know, he's long,
and that's what the stuff that people you wanted to
get from Larry Nance when he's not injured. It's athleticism,
(27:02):
the spark, and that's sort of what Jackson and in
matching up against the Thunder, that's what you're gonna need too.
You know, they do get downhill quick. They're a fast
paced team, so being able to have somebody that can move,
that can be a big stopper would help. Yeah, length
always helps, so we we we got to look forward
to that. And you know, speaking of keys to our
(27:23):
success tonight, Brandon Ingram is of course going to be
the focal point of this offense. With you know, no
Zion here, it's gonna be Bi and he has been
going off, so you know, one of the keys to
the game, as listed on the Pelicans Twitter account, was
Dork versus Ingram. He had forty two points at Minnesota,
(27:45):
did Ingram, So that's gonna be an interesting matchup. What
do you expect to see? Do you expect to be
a high scoring game or of a low scoring game?
These are two good defenses, and both teams sort of
know who they got a lockdown. We got a lockdown SGA,
They're gonna try to lockdown BI. Yeah, I mean Brandon
Ingram has been playing some of his best basketball of
his career since the March seventeen lost it to the Lakers.
(28:08):
You know, he's really turned it up a notch, almost
thirty points a game. His assists have gone up, he's
eight a game, and then even his rebounding has been
a lot better with nearly seven rebounds a game. So
in all facets, he's contributing, and he's really what makes
this team go, whether it is facilitating creating opportunities on
(28:30):
the offensive end or finding ways that he can be
effective himself. So, yes, it all starts with Brandon Ingram
on the Pelican side, and as you mentioned, it definitely
comes down to SGA on the OKC side. Against the Pelicans,
SGA has average thirty four points a game. He's had
as much as forty four, so that is definitely a
(28:53):
focal point. They blitzed him a lot, worked on that
in practice and shoot around making sure that they're trying
to keep him out of the paint, not letting him
drive on you. I'm worried about is because he drives
constantly to the paint. Is our defenders getting in foul
trouble And because you don't want to see Jonas having
a ride the bench or Herb having a ride the
(29:13):
bench from long stretches of time. And that's a tricky
thing with SJA, who gets a lot of calls. Yeah,
it's it's gonna be Herb Jones as your primary defender there.
I think Dodge Marshall will come in and help a
lot in that regard. Maybe some Josh Richardson, but in
talking to brandon Ingram this morning, he did say hopefully
the refs allow a little more physicality, allow things to
(29:36):
slide a little bit because it is postseason play. Yes, well,
I agree with BII there they had they had actually
on get up this morning. Will brandon Ingram score thirty
one or more points? Yes? Or no? What are you
going with? I think absolutely, I think he has to go. Yeah, absolutely,
just because of the need. Right, he's got to score.
And because at this point you saw it last night
(29:58):
in the playing games, he has to play the entire game,
you know, so he's going to average more minutes. So
I think that translates to more opportunities for him to
score as well. Yeah, for sure. And look, we don't
want to look ahead. And obviously the Pelicans lost to
those shorthanded Timberwolves, but this looks like such a nice
path ahead when you if you can beat this Oklahoma
(30:19):
City thunder squad and then you get a hobbled Timberwolves team,
and that the spark from that that bitch fight that's
gone now, right, so that that looks like a matchup
that you want going into this one. So I don't
want to start counting chickens before they hatch, but it
just it looks good. Aaron just looks good. We want
the Pelicans to focus on this game, but we can
(30:43):
think about what's happen, you know, because I don't really
have any impact on what happens tonight. So Friday, Todd,
GRAFFINII and I were talking at shoot around this morning.
The Timberwolves are kind of a mess. Yeah, and they
will leave the door open, are you Yeah? You just
have to freaking take advantage of it and walk through. Yes,
(31:05):
And that's what they were not able to do on Sunday.
And so I think the second time around, the Pelicans
Bards are going to be even more locked in. Yes.
And we saw again in the way that the Timberwolves
played against the Lakers. They let the Lakers back in
that game so many times, and the Lakers perfectly for
the Lakers, they got a bunch of calls and obviously
(31:26):
they were going to some way, somehow, the Lakers were
going to win, and it was probably going to be
with some help from whistles. Yes, but you know, the
Lakers did not play a great game last night and
still them all let them. Yeah. So I think it's
a better matchup for the Pelicans to be able to
go back to Minnesota. It's a quick flight versus having
(31:49):
to go all the way to La. Just played them.
The scouting report is fresh right now and it just
looks like they are a hobbled team. And again, that's
the matchup you And there's just no more fun place
to be than legitimately controlling your own destiny right now,
which is I feel like where the Pelicans are. So
look you're gonna be busy all day all night. I
(32:12):
know it's gonna be a crazy one for the radio
and TV cruise, so you're out and about doing everything.
I'm gonna let you go here, but thank you so
much for giving us the scoop on the shoot around
and looking forward to seeing you on the sideline tonight.
Are Yeah, definitely on the radio and our radio broadcast
of Pelicans broadcast will be the NBA radio broadcast tonight,
(32:33):
so you can listen to us on serious X and
there you go. Just you know, turn the TV down
and turn the radio up. There you go. You want
to hear the dulcet tones of Aaron E. Summers and
Todd Todd did he promised me he was gonna be
a little more upbeat because of that today. Okay, we'll see,
we'll see. I'm gonna give him a few little treats
and some extra coffee, so I don't know, maybe more,
(32:54):
maybe less coffee. It's good for Todd, but we look
forward to it as always good scoop there in Summers
and this is it, Pelicans fans. We will see you tonight.
I expect if you are within the sound of my
voice that you will be in the blender, or if
not in the blender, hollering so loud you maybe get
evicted wherever you dwell. This is that we need this,
(33:17):
Pelicans fans. We need this home court advantage to absolutely
mean something. So get lubricated, get loud, Gergerloins once again,
missing Jim Eichenhoffer got the empty chair just sitting there,
and you know I miss him, but he is getting better.
We hope to see him and hear from him soon.
(33:38):
Big thanks as well to Nick Gallos, sideline reporter for
the Oklahoma City Thunder. We'll be seeing him as well
on the sidelines tonight. Thank you so much for listening
to the Pelicans podcast. Hey, please continue to tell your
friends and pals. Have you listened to it on Spotify? Hey,
you know the Pelicans podcast? Have you checked it out
on iTunes? We love that stuff, so I'll give us
(33:59):
a five star rating. Tell everybody the Pelicans podcast is cool.
We will talk to you on Friday with big news
one way or the other. So until then, Pells, thanks
for listening to the New Orleans Pelicans podcast presented by
(34:22):
seat Geek. Join us three times per week on Pelicans
dot com. The Pelicans mobile app, or you can subscribe
to the podcast on iTunes. We'll see you next time
right here on the New Orleans Pelicans podcast, presented by SeatGeek.
What by Charles, He's done it, don on her baby,
(34:43):
dot on her lights out into warlands,
Welcome into the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Geeg,
a podcast dedicated to everything you need to know about
the squad. I mean physically, I'm fine, Nah, It's just
a matter of, like when I feel like Zion Son.
It's just a matter of when I feel like Zion.
The New Orleans Pelicans podcast starts right now. Welcome to
(00:31):
the Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Geek. I am Joe Cardosi,
once again not joined by the mending Jim Kenhofer, as
he continues to become stronger, faster so that he will
come back a menacing presence on the Pelicans podcast. We
(00:53):
look forward to his return and we fear it, but
looking ahead to things that I am looking forward to
and not afraid of. Tonight's match up against the Oklahoma
City Thunder, a scrappy underdog team maybe a bit ahead
of schedule, reminds me a bit of our Pelicans. We're
gonna talk to Nick Gallos, sideline reporter for Bally's Sports
(01:15):
covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. No one better to get
the report on the team we are facing tonight than
a fella who sees them constantly on the sidelines, breaking
down the ends and out looking forward to the conversation
with Nick Gallo there also, as I record, this shoot
around is happening, So once that ends, gonna bring Aaron Summers,
(01:38):
our own team report or our own sideline reporter in
for a little scoop of what she saw a shoot
around and what she expects to see tonight. Gonna be
interesting stuff, so stay tuned for that as Aaron Summers
will join me once she's done with her shoot around duties.
But we got to get to the big news. I
guess the biggest news other than the game at hand tonight,
(02:00):
And that's what you heard in the intro to today's podcast.
Zion Williamson has spoken. Finally. The people have been asking
for it, trying to figure out through all kinds of
conspiracy theories when Zion might talk. There is nothing else
to conjecture about. Zion said it himself. He he doesn't
(02:21):
feel like himself. He feels fine physically, but he doesn't
feel like himself. Now that's a nebulous subject that all
kinds of people can have all kinds of answers about.
But the thing that you can never know about someone
else is how it feels to be in their skin.
Being consistently injured on the same leg is of course
(02:42):
gonna make you trepidacious. And a bunch of fans are saying, oh, well,
of course, a seventy percent Zion Williamson or a fifty
percent Zion Williamson is better than anything else you tried
out there. But what you don't understand is if Zion
comes back, the focal point of your offense is going
to become, to some degree, Zion Williamson. And if he
isn't acting like himself, if he isn't making the plays
(03:04):
that you expect of him, when he becomes a focal
point of your offense upon his arrival, of course that
will hobble the team. Of course it will. So Zion
isn't incorrect when he says he doesn't want to hurt
the team by not being able to play like himself.
We saw a little bit with Brandon Ingram when he
came back from that toe injury. Took him a bit
(03:24):
to really look like himself, to look like the confident
scorer that we know right now is averaging about thirty
points a game. It's tough. It's tough, but the good
news is that he does say he feels good physically.
That's step one. ESPNS Andrew Lopez asking Zion would you
be able to go in a first round series, and
(03:46):
Zion answering if I feel like Zion, Zion will continue
to rehabilitate, continue doing on the court activities, and we
wish him the best. Now onto the task at hand.
Before we can look ahead to anything that we might
see or do in the first round of a playoff series,
the Pelicans have to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's
(04:08):
when or go home. This is it. SGA has given
the Pelicans fits, as he has given the entire league
fits this entire season. You know, they're sort of playing
with house money right now. A lot of people think
they're early to maybe this play in series playoff contention,
so you don't know how loose they're gonna play. Now.
Whoever moves on from this game will face a hobbled
(04:31):
Timberwolves team at Minnesota. So and honestly, the Lakers didn't
look that great playing against those Timberwolves, so either way,
you know that would have fallen the Pelicans. In my heart,
looked like the odds might be pretty good to continue
moving on again. If you beat this Oklahoma City Thunder squad,
(04:54):
and we're not looking ahead, we are locked in. What
is this Thunder team? How are they gonna play the Ellicans? Well,
let's get the scoop from mister Nick Gallos, sideline reporter
for Ballet's Sports covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. Let's speak
to the Oklahoma City Thunders. Nick Gallo joining us on
(05:20):
the Pelicans podcast, sideline reporter for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Who the Pelicans are facing tonight? No one better to
get the scouting report from mister Nick Gallo. Give him
a follow on Twitter at Nick A Gallo? Nick? How
are you doing before this big matchup? Doing great? Just
enjoying your city of New Orleans, had had a night
(05:44):
dinner last night and looking forward to which would be
a really exciting matchup here and a new experience for
the Thunder and obviously something that the New Orleans the
Pelicans is familiar with here in the plan. Yeah, and
hopefully dinner treated you well last night. I know New
Orleans food is always a treat for those visiting, but
you know, as a Pelicans fan, we want that to
(06:06):
be the best thing y'all enjoy here selfishly, But you know,
y'all are a scrappy team, and I have friends in
Oklahoma City who I talk to about basketball all the time,
and it's funny because you guys remind me of us
in a lot of ways. You're a young team, you're
building with a young core that's been built in house
(06:28):
for the most part, and you're sort of ahead of schedule,
it almost seems like and maybe surprising people with where
you're at this early, especially with no chet Holmgren, etc.
So you know, what would you say is the defining
part of your team's success? I mean, obviously you point
to SGA, but what where would you say this team's
(06:49):
success so early on is coming from. Well, Joe, I
would say that really the success, the results are a
product of the process that the Thunder has engaged did
on a daily basis. They really have not been focused
on the outcomes. What they've been focused on is the
daily work, and they've really tried to keep their head
down and be focused on the values and the things
(07:13):
that eventually go into winning as opposed to maybe chasing
a win on a night in, night out basis. And
you know, for as you're as you're talking about these
young cores, you know, New Orleans can say the same
things that you know, there are times where the team
is making progress, but the results aren't necessarily showing on
the scoreboard, and there's there's not always a direct one
(07:34):
to one ratio there with the way that guys are improving,
the work that's being put in, and you know, the
results coming on the scoreboard. But over the course of time,
the Thunder is betting on that process playing out and
bearing fruits. So I think, you know, the that's sort
of the bigger picture aspect of why the Thunder has
(07:55):
been able to, you know, have some good results in
the standings on the scoreboard. But more than that, I
think it's it's just the players and the work that
they've put in and the connection that they've made. This
has been a really tight knit team. Um it starts
with a leader like Shay who plays with such great restraint.
And that's not usually a word that you hear with
(08:18):
a thirty point per game scorer, but um, that's one
of that's one of Shay's best attributes is the ability
to kind of really calibrate his aggressiveness versus you know,
how to make sure that he's playing inside the team
concept and knowing when you know he's got to kind
of push things a little bit more, but he never
really plays outside of himself or outside of the team,
(08:41):
and I think that has a trickle down effect as well. Yeah,
and that's the thing. You know, what you're getting out
of Shae giljis Alexander. You know, he's not gonna be
shooting a bunch of threes. He's going to keep driving
to the rack and score a bunch of points. And
so for the Pelicans, it's just an interesting defensive assignment.
You know. You for the Pelicans, you've got to hope
that Jonas and Herb can sort of build a wall,
(09:02):
but then you got to worry about foul trouble. So honestly,
you know, how do you keep from the Oklahoma City perspective?
How do you keep Herb Jones off of SGA and
keep him effective? Well, the Thunder has been focused all
season long, and in particular in some of these New
Orleans matchups, just given how much Herb and then you
know a second defender will come over and double team Shay.
(09:25):
The Thunder is really focused on making quick early decisions
with the ball, getting it out, being able to play
four on three on the backside and executing the you know,
five man playmaker offense that the Thunder hats. And that's
really what OKAYC has tried to execute on all season,
is that all five guys can be a threat to pass, shoot,
(09:46):
dribble and you know, make the next play for them
for the next guy. We've seen so many backdoor cuts,
We've seen so many drives to the rim. The Thunder
leads the NBA and drives and well, you know, a
large percentage of those are sha you know, out of
the sixty five drives a game, about twenty four of
them are from Shape, but that means there's another forty
or so from everybody else. And and so what you're
(10:09):
getting from the Thunder is opportunities on the back side
of the play if they can make quick decisions and
then attack out of them against the length of New Orleans,
which is no easy task. It's one of the reasons
why the Pelicans have been one of the better defensive
teams all season and are able to swarm people with
their lengths and size and are able to make up
ground on the back side. I mean think that's something
(10:30):
that the Pelicans kind of are counting on is that
you know, they can recover, they can get back with
quickness and with lengths and you know, put pressure on
main guys and then try to rush the secondary playmakers
on the back side. Yeah, I mean you got to
figure that Herb is going to be picking up SGA
full court. He fights through screens really well, one of
(10:50):
the best in the league at that. And so how
important are J Dub and Giddy going to be to
your team? I mean, do they have to be lights
out if SJA is having a tough offensive? How important
are they going to be for your success in this game? Well,
I don't think it's it's necessarily you know, on one
or two guys. I think the most important thing and
(11:12):
UM Thunder coach Mark Dagnald was say thing this same
thing is that UM their five man unit executes at
a high level. So that doesn't necessarily mean that it's
got to be Um Giddy or Jayalen Williams J Dubb.
That is, you know, attacking the rim over and over
again and scoring you know X number of points. It's
just that the Thunder has got to be able to
execute quickly, make sharp decisions and you know, find that
(11:36):
next guy. And of course you know shots going down
is going to play an impact in this game, sure,
as it does in every single game. Um. But you're right,
you know, with a guy like Herb Jones. Um. And
this goes back to kind of what I was saying
about restraint, is like Jay is not going to force
it just because you know, the numbers on the on
the box score aren't looking what they typically like, what
they typically do. It's up to the Thunder to leverage
(11:59):
that pressure from from Herb and leverage the double team
that New Orleans throws at him into good offense. You know.
And I'm interested in what those Thunder rotations are going
to be sort of like the Pelicans, y'all don't have
a ton of playoff experience, especially with this group you
have now, So it's going to be the first sort
of rotational minutes in the playoffs or play in for
(12:22):
this squad. You know, who are the eight or nine
guys that you expect to really be important, you know
going forward in this game. And you know, whoever wins
this game would see a hobbled Timberwolves team. So you know,
you don't want to look ahead, but who are those
guys that you see as important rotational pieces that maybe
casual fans or maybe Pelicans fans may not know. Well.
(12:44):
The fascinating thing about the Thunder is that there's really been,
you know, throughout the season, like thirteen guys that have
been in the rotation. And I think that's been sort
of a strategic advantage for the Thunder throughout the course
of the season, that that opponents don't always necessarily know
who's going to be in the rotation from night tonight. Now,
over the last few weeks, the starting lineup has settled
(13:04):
a little bit more into both Jalen Williams's, who are
both rookies starting alongside Shay Josh Giddy and Low Dort.
And Dort obviously will play a huge role in this game,
getting defensive assignments on either CJ. McCollum or Brandon Ingram.
Probably we'll see time on both of those guys throughout
the course of this game. And Dort's ability, kind of
(13:26):
like Jones, to be a defensive stopper. We've seen that
throughout the course of his career. He's had some high
profile opportunities in the playoffs, that seven game series with
the Houston Rockets and the job he did on James Harden.
But each each player is totally different. You know, CJ.
McCollum and Brandon Ingram are two totally different assignments for
(13:46):
a guy like Dort And so that's why a guy
like Jaylen Williams J. Dubb Is Broke probably going to
be a big factor there. And then off the bench
for the Thunder, you know, you'll see a variety of
guys and it would be fascinating to see how the
Thunder deploys them. Isaiah has been one of the best
three point shooters in the NBA all season long, kind
of right in the top ten for most of the year.
(14:06):
Then you know a veteran presence in Dario Sarich, who
you know, against this New Orleans team that has size
and physicality upfront, you might need some of that from
a guy like Starich. Aaron Wiggins has really come on
as a second year steel really from the second round
last year in the twenty twenty one draft, and he's
(14:27):
just been kind of this sensational role player. I mean,
he's not gonna um value with box scoring numbers necessarily,
but he's an extremely efficient player in his role. Shooting
him a little bit below forty percent from free and
just one of those guys that can can kind of
cut and fill in and glue in. He's a solid
defender two at about six foot six, So those guys
(14:49):
will certainly factor in to this one. And Um, Okay
Se does a really nice job of sort of rotating
those lead playmakers in and out of the lineup. Um
with Shay, you know, playing good, good solid chunk of
the first quarter, with Josh and Josh Giddey and Jub
coming out you know at some point midway through that
first quarter, and then then Gay and Jadub will come
(15:10):
back in in the second quarters typically and kind of
take over those minutes while Shay is on the bench.
So Um, you'll you'll see other guys. You'll see Whinney
Waters the third potentially who's a knockdown three point shooter
as well another Steele who was a basically a tryout
player for the Okasey Blue the G League team, and
has worked his way up to a full time contract.
(15:31):
So really special story there. The guy is from Norman, Oklahoma,
and Um was playing for the Enid Outlaws professionally after
right after college at Oklahoma State. So um, that's that's
a guy to keep an eye on, just as a
fun story. On the thunderside. Yeah, you know, we've got
our Josie Alvarado on our side. He's our scrappy underdog story.
(15:52):
A guy that you know, just just walking around talking
to Pelicans, fans, talking to people in the building, that
that many people are are strangely afraid of is Isaiah
Joe because of specifically his three point shooting, because the
Pells have had trouble just keeping pace when the when
the shots aren't falling. Sometimes with three point shooting teams,
when when it's raining threes, we can sort of fall
(16:15):
behind because we're either trading ones for threes or when
you look at this game, it's it's two really tough defenses.
I would say a lot of the way that both
these teams got here is through defense. So do you
expect a low scoring game? A lot of people are
going to sort of take the under on this one.
Do you expect this one to be sort of a
grinded out game? All you expect it to be one
(16:36):
of those games where you know, Isaiah Joe and some
of those other contributors are raining threes and the Pells
are gonna have to keep pace. Well. In today's NBA game,
you know, a low scoring game is somewhere in the
you know, one oh five territory, right, so everything is
totally shifted on the scoring front. I will say I
think that these two teams do match up pretty well
(16:57):
with each other defensively, and we're just talking about the
ways in which New Orleans can really be a tough
matchup for for any lead playmaker, given the way that
they can swarm and double team and trap and then
get out of that. And then on the other side,
you know, the Thunder has a couple wing defenders whom
you know can provide that presence against McCollum and Ingram,
(17:18):
And as you mentioned, you know, at times for both
of these teams, you know, shots have not fallen from
the outside from some of those role players, and then
some nights they have. And so what makes this so
fascinating in a one and done environment is supposed to
in a series where inevitably one game, you know somebody
is going to going to go off and have a
(17:39):
really hot shooting night er or you know, the dynamic
is going to be a certain way in game two
that it's not in game four. This is a one
shot deal and so it's just going to be really
fascinating to see, you know, which of these subplots bubbles
up to the surface in this game tonight. And I
would guarantee that one of them, whatever those subplots are,
(18:00):
is going to be very unexpected and something that we
did not talk about here today so far. Yes, yeah,
that expect the unexpected. That's basically the scoop from today,
you know. And just before I'll let you go, you know,
we've got our own guy that we hope to see
on the floor soon, and that's Zion Williamson. But you've
got Chet Holmgren. Chet Holmgren. Sorry, it's hard to pronounce there,
(18:20):
but you know, one of the funniest things I've seen
on the Internet recently was the fan reaction from OKAC
Thunder fans to the bulked up, facial haired Chet Holmgren,
who is you know, rehabbing, but it looks like he
is growing up and bulking up before everyone's eyes. What's
been the fan reaction to seeing him? And how voracious
(18:42):
is the want for news for and about him? Because
we know everything here every time we check Twitter, it's
someone just being like, what's the latest on Zion? Two
seconds later, what's the latest on Zion? Is it basically
the same thing with Chet? There No, I do feel
for the New Orleans fans in the sense that, um,
you know, Zion has played this season and there's been
(19:03):
this sort of back and forth and obviously you just
feel feel terrible for Zion that he's had some of
these um injuries situations continue to pop up. But with Chet,
I think it was it's been a more clear cuts
thing from the beginning of the season that the fan
base um was kind of you know, repeatedly told like
he Chet is not coming back this year. And so
I think that's that's allowed for Chet first of all,
(19:27):
to be able to get his body right, get his foot,
you know, get his his foot heeld and get himself
um back to one without the pressure of when is
he coming? You know what what's going on and um.
And so that's that's been really nice that he's been
able to kind of work diligently in the background but
still be connected to the team without tons and tons
(19:48):
of questions um you know, coming and left and right,
and not being kind of a constant topic in the
media and with the fan base. But but it is
cool that you know, there is still a nice connection
with the fan base, and I think a lot of
excitement for next season. Um. Chet actually gave a thank
you address before game number eighty two on Sunday to
(20:10):
the fans in Paycon Center, and that was a really
nice moment for you know, Chet to kind of uh,
you know, send off what could could be the last
game of the season in Paycon for the thunder Um
and you know, give a little little pease, a little
excitement for next year to remind the fans. Hey, you know, uh,
all all, assuming everything goes well this summer, you know,
I'm I'm going to be ready to rock in October.
(20:32):
And that's why I think you guys are a dangerous
team because it feels like you're playing with house money
right now, being in the play in tournament right now,
because you've got up to eight first round picks still coming,
You've got Chet Holmgren coming back next season. It's going
to be a very interesting offseason. Win or lose this game, uh,
(20:53):
for the for your team, I'm going to be curious
to check up on the news on you guys. Well,
I think that's a really important point that you make,
and there is no there's no schedule, there's no timeline.
But the thunder is the youngest team in the NBA
this season. They're the second youngest team in NBA history,
only to last year's thunder team. And so for okay
(21:15):
see to be just even getting these experiences right now
is a massive win. You know, there's no there's no
internal expectations heading into any year, including next year. And
I don't think that anybody is under the impression that
this team continues to grow and mature and develop, that
it's just going to be this straight line and that
(21:37):
each year there's going to be more wins than there
was a year before, and that there's going to be
more you know, postseason success than there was a year before.
That's just I mean, as as New Orleans fans know too,
that's just not how this works, right, And so I
think that's a really great reminder for fans in any
market to enjoy what you have when you have it,
because you just never know what might happen the next year.
(21:59):
And I think obviously there's a lot to really look
forward to in in Thunderland, but um, there's an attitude
of you know, not taking any of that for granted
and really being diligent on the same process that has
yielded the results this season and over the last few seasons,
that process has been the same. You know, this team
has not done anything differently this year compared to last
(22:22):
year or the year before other than the results looking
different on the scoreboard. And so I think that's a
really important reminder for you know, the Thunder fan base
and fan bases around the league when they're kind of
looking at these these situations, is you know, this is
a long journey that actually has has roots back in
the you know, twenty twenty twenty one season, and um,
(22:47):
the lessons that we're learned. Then this is now three
years of shagloss Alexander being the top last guy on
a scouting report, and so they might not have you know,
postseason experience, but they do have a lot of experience, um,
playing other in some continuity building now, so certainly exciting,
but this is the time where where the focus and
(23:09):
the diligence has to be extremely high because there's there's
no guarantees. Yeah, learning how to win is important, especially
for such a young squad. The Pelicans know that as well.
Like I said, your team reminds me of us, and
I feel like in the next several years we're gonna
be seeing a lot of each other in the playoffs
and it's gonna be interesting. So good luck to your
(23:30):
squad again, hopefully not too much good luck, but interesting
scouting report. Gonna be an interesting game tonight. Super excited
to see it and I'll probably see you around the
arena there, Nick, Yeah, see you down over there. Thanks
for having me on. Oh, thank you so much to
(23:51):
mister Nick Gallo for giving the report. And you know what,
joining me fresh off getting the scoop is the intrepid
errand some give her a follow at Aaron E. Summers
for all the good info. Aaron, you know you're out there,
you got to see shoot around and whatnot. What info
can you give us? How did everyone look out there? Well,
(24:13):
I'll say the past two days, yesterday very focused practice
on the thunder, what we've done well against them, what
we've not done well against them in the past four matchups,
and same goes for today. There were several times throughout
practice and shoot around that Willie Green stopped the team
and said that's not good enough. We need to make
(24:34):
sure that we're developing habits. The way that you practice
will show up on the court. So he was really
nailing in things like staying wide on defense, making sure
that you're creating a wall, making sure that you're practicing
like that with the same effort and intensity that it's
going to take in this game tonight, in your practice
and in shoot around today. So that was interesting. He
(24:56):
was really emphasizing the effort that it was going to
take at all times and everything that you were doing,
and the pells fans like to hear that right now. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean he stopped back to several times, which is
more involvement than I've seen from him. So you can
kind of see the heightened level that he's taking this too,
(25:18):
and his approach to it. At the end of shoot
around today, you know, he did tell the team that
this is a huge opportunity in front of them tonight.
He said he's very proud of them for getting to
this point despite everything that's happened this season, and that
it should be a lot of fun tonight at the SKC,
that the atmosphere is going to be great. I mean,
we know what it was like last year during the
(25:39):
play in and I think they're expecting the home court
advantage to be a factor tonight, and I do too.
I feel like for a bit there it seemed like
we were a bit deflated, maybe coming off of that
final game. Fans didn't seem that up. But as things
are building, I feel like the wind is starting to
get in their sales a little bit, and you're hoping
(26:00):
it's going to be a raucous crowd. We need you
out there now. Larry Nance questionable for this game, not
sure if he's going to play or not. So that means,
you know, when you're when you're shorthanded, it's center, you
might see some some different rotational minutes at that center position.
What do you think we might see there? I think
that you're going to see herb at the five a
(26:20):
little bit tonight. That's something we've seen throughout the season
as needed, depending on who are playing, matchups and size
that kind of stuff. But I think we're going to
see a lot of Jackson Hayes. I think he may
be the one that comes in in that role if
Larry Nance is unable to go tonight. Neil Larry has
been playing through injury and then kind of adding to
(26:41):
that in that last game of the regular season against
the Timberwolves. You know, we'll see if he's able to
go as you mentioned listed as questionable, but if not,
rotation wise, I would expect to see Jackson Hayes getting
some of those minutes. He's athletic, you know, he's long,
and that's what the stuff that people you wanted to
get from Larry Nance when he's not injured. It's athleticism,
(27:02):
the spark, and that's sort of what Jackson and in
matching up against the Thunder, that's what you're gonna need too.
You know, they do get downhill quick. They're a fast
paced team, so being able to have somebody that can move,
that can be a big stopper would help. Yeah, length
always helps, so we we we got to look forward
to that. And you know, speaking of keys to our
(27:23):
success tonight, Brandon Ingram is of course going to be
the focal point of this offense. With you know, no
Zion here, it's gonna be Bi and he has been
going off, so you know, one of the keys to
the game, as listed on the Pelicans Twitter account, was
Dork versus Ingram. He had forty two points at Minnesota,
(27:45):
did Ingram, So that's gonna be an interesting matchup. What
do you expect to see? Do you expect to be
a high scoring game or of a low scoring game?
These are two good defenses, and both teams sort of
know who they got a lockdown. We got a lockdown SGA,
They're gonna try to lockdown BI. Yeah, I mean Brandon
Ingram has been playing some of his best basketball of
his career since the March seventeen lost it to the Lakers.
(28:08):
You know, he's really turned it up a notch, almost
thirty points a game. His assists have gone up, he's
eight a game, and then even his rebounding has been
a lot better with nearly seven rebounds a game. So
in all facets, he's contributing, and he's really what makes
this team go, whether it is facilitating creating opportunities on
(28:30):
the offensive end or finding ways that he can be
effective himself. So, yes, it all starts with Brandon Ingram
on the Pelican side, and as you mentioned, it definitely
comes down to SGA on the OKC side. Against the Pelicans,
SGA has average thirty four points a game. He's had
as much as forty four, so that is definitely a
(28:53):
focal point. They blitzed him a lot, worked on that
in practice and shoot around making sure that they're trying
to keep him out of the paint, not letting him
drive on you. I'm worried about is because he drives
constantly to the paint. Is our defenders getting in foul
trouble And because you don't want to see Jonas having
a ride the bench or Herb having a ride the
(29:13):
bench from long stretches of time. And that's a tricky
thing with SJA, who gets a lot of calls. Yeah,
it's it's gonna be Herb Jones as your primary defender there.
I think Dodge Marshall will come in and help a
lot in that regard. Maybe some Josh Richardson, but in
talking to brandon Ingram this morning, he did say hopefully
the refs allow a little more physicality, allow things to
(29:36):
slide a little bit because it is postseason play. Yes, well,
I agree with BII there they had they had actually
on get up this morning. Will brandon Ingram score thirty
one or more points? Yes? Or no? What are you
going with? I think absolutely, I think he has to go. Yeah, absolutely,
just because of the need. Right, he's got to score.
And because at this point you saw it last night
(29:58):
in the playing games, he has to play the entire game,
you know, so he's going to average more minutes. So
I think that translates to more opportunities for him to
score as well. Yeah, for sure. And look, we don't
want to look ahead. And obviously the Pelicans lost to
those shorthanded Timberwolves, but this looks like such a nice
path ahead when you if you can beat this Oklahoma
(30:19):
City thunder squad and then you get a hobbled Timberwolves team,
and that the spark from that that bitch fight that's
gone now, right, so that that looks like a matchup
that you want going into this one. So I don't
want to start counting chickens before they hatch, but it
just it looks good. Aaron just looks good. We want
the Pelicans to focus on this game, but we can
(30:43):
think about what's happen, you know, because I don't really
have any impact on what happens tonight. So Friday, Todd,
GRAFFINII and I were talking at shoot around this morning.
The Timberwolves are kind of a mess. Yeah, and they
will leave the door open, are you Yeah? You just
have to freaking take advantage of it and walk through. Yes,
(31:05):
And that's what they were not able to do on Sunday.
And so I think the second time around, the Pelicans
Bards are going to be even more locked in. Yes.
And we saw again in the way that the Timberwolves
played against the Lakers. They let the Lakers back in
that game so many times, and the Lakers perfectly for
the Lakers, they got a bunch of calls and obviously
(31:26):
they were going to some way, somehow, the Lakers were
going to win, and it was probably going to be
with some help from whistles. Yes, but you know, the
Lakers did not play a great game last night and
still them all let them. Yeah. So I think it's
a better matchup for the Pelicans to be able to
go back to Minnesota. It's a quick flight versus having
(31:49):
to go all the way to La. Just played them.
The scouting report is fresh right now and it just
looks like they are a hobbled team. And again, that's
the matchup you And there's just no more fun place
to be than legitimately controlling your own destiny right now,
which is I feel like where the Pelicans are. So
look you're gonna be busy all day all night. I
(32:12):
know it's gonna be a crazy one for the radio
and TV cruise, so you're out and about doing everything.
I'm gonna let you go here, but thank you so
much for giving us the scoop on the shoot around
and looking forward to seeing you on the sideline tonight.
Are Yeah, definitely on the radio and our radio broadcast
of Pelicans broadcast will be the NBA radio broadcast tonight,
(32:33):
so you can listen to us on serious X and
there you go. Just you know, turn the TV down
and turn the radio up. There you go. You want
to hear the dulcet tones of Aaron E. Summers and
Todd Todd did he promised me he was gonna be
a little more upbeat because of that today. Okay, we'll see,
we'll see. I'm gonna give him a few little treats
and some extra coffee, so I don't know, maybe more,
(32:54):
maybe less coffee. It's good for Todd, but we look
forward to it as always good scoop there in Summers
and this is it, Pelicans fans. We will see you tonight.
I expect if you are within the sound of my
voice that you will be in the blender, or if
not in the blender, hollering so loud you maybe get
evicted wherever you dwell. This is that we need this,
(33:17):
Pelicans fans. We need this home court advantage to absolutely
mean something. So get lubricated, get loud, Gergerloins once again,
missing Jim Eichenhoffer got the empty chair just sitting there,
and you know I miss him, but he is getting better.
We hope to see him and hear from him soon.
(33:38):
Big thanks as well to Nick Gallos, sideline reporter for
the Oklahoma City Thunder. We'll be seeing him as well
on the sidelines tonight. Thank you so much for listening
to the Pelicans podcast. Hey, please continue to tell your
friends and pals. Have you listened to it on Spotify? Hey,
you know the Pelicans podcast? Have you checked it out
on iTunes? We love that stuff, so I'll give us
(33:59):
a five star rating. Tell everybody the Pelicans podcast is cool.
We will talk to you on Friday with big news
one way or the other. So until then, Pells, thanks
for listening to the New Orleans Pelicans podcast presented by
(34:22):
seat Geek. Join us three times per week on Pelicans
dot com. The Pelicans mobile app, or you can subscribe
to the podcast on iTunes. We'll see you next time
right here on the New Orleans Pelicans podcast, presented by SeatGeek.
What by Charles, He's done it, don on her baby,
(34:43):
dot on her lights out into warlands,
Host
Jim Eichenhofer
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