Despite an array of injuries and resulting lineup changes in 2019-20, New Orleans was one of the NBA’s best three-point shooting teams and often performed at an elite level offensively. It didn’t take much film analysis to figure out where the 30-42 Pelicans needed to improve, however, after they spent much of the season ranked near the bottom in key defensive statistics. They finished 21st in efficiency.
With that in mind, during his first team practice as head coach Sunday, Stan Van Gundy devoted his energy and emphasis to defensive work. For several Pelicans young players, defense is the aspect of the game where they can make the greatest strides, which is also the case for the team overall.