Since Monty Williams has been here, we have seen thousands of minutes without a single starter on the court. Usually, at the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second, Monty likes to make wholesale changes and put all five reserves on the court together. Unlike most coaches, Williams doesn’t stagger his lineups throughout the game. Instead, he is a fan of building some chemistry in his second unit by playing them all together – something that has driven fans crazy in the past.
But this year, his plan just might work. Make no mistake, he will stagger his starters a bit, as Tyreke and Anderson figure to be the first reserves subbed in. Those two will play with the starters in the first and third quarters, and at the end of games as well. But expect the five man reserve unit to start the second and fourth quarters, and get a few minutes at the end of the first and third quarters as well. In total, expect this reserve unit to get on the court for 10-12 minutes a game against opposing reserves, and while we concentrate on the starters and the finishers, this unit could possibly swing 10-15 games this season with its firepower.
So, what should we expect this reserve unit to look like? Imagine Tyreke Evans with the ball in his hands while Jimmer, Rivers, and Ryan Anderson spot up for three, and the 7’2“, 275 pound Alexis Ajinca sets picks and pops for his buttery 17 footer. Or, picture Jimmer with the ball as Tyreke sets a pick, giving the opposition three choices:
1.) Go over and allow Jimmer an easy path to the bucket. When the D collapses, he can kick it to Rivers or Ryno for a three, or Ajinca for an alley-oop.
2.) Go under and Jimmer drains the 3.
3.) Switch and put your backup PG on Tyreke, who takes him to the block.
Imagine that team in transition, with Tyreke, Jimmer, and Rivers pushing and Ryno and Ajinca spotting up on the secondary break. Just imagine. Imagine all the points they can score in a very short amount of time. Now, the concern is obvious: What about the defense? This unit has, at most, two good on-ball defenders and an average rim defender at best. It has one guy who rebounds at an above average rate for his position, and multiple horrible defensive rebounders for their position. Due to those concerns, this unit would be admittedly quite awful against most of the top starting units in the NBA. But they wouldn’t be playing against starters.
Against Memphis, they would be playing against Nick Calathes, Courtney Lee, Tayshaun Prince, Jon Leuer, and Kosta Koufos. When Houston comes to town, they have to deal with Troy Daniels, Jason Terry, Trevor Ariza, Montiejunas, and Jeff Adrien. The list goes on and on. If you look at the units that most teams send out at that part of the game, it is chalk full of reserves, with one or two starters at most left in, and rarely do we see the elite players. At most, we see two serious offensive threats and one above average offensive rebounder.
While we can’t expect this unit to lock anybody down defensively, it could be good enough to contain opposing bench units, and a unit with an offensive rating of 112 and a defensive rating of 105 is just as good as a unit with an offensive rating of 102 and a defensive rating of 95. And that is what I expect from this second unit, if Monty does in fact choose to go with it. I expect this unit to outscore the unit it is on the floor with, and on some nights it might truly change the entire game. We saw (or heard) this in the Pelicans first preseason game last night, where a 17-5 run in the second quarter flipped the game and put the Pelicans ahead for good.
Jimmer and Ryan Anderson drained three’s, while Rivers attacked the rim. And they didn’t even have Ajinca or Tyreke last night. Regardless, last night was an example of what the Pelicans second unit can do. Can you imagine a world in which Anthony Davis comes back onto the court with bigger leads than he left with? Imagine a world where teams get blitzed by three balls, only to re-insert their starters down 10 and see Asik and AD standing at the rim, denying any chance for them to get easy buckets, which is what you need to get back into a game.
Anthony Davis is going to be a superstar. Eric Gordon seems poised to have his best season in New Orleans. Jrue Holiday is healthy and is ready to lead this team on both ends. Monty Williams has returned from Spain with a new mindset and philosophy on how to treat his players. While all of these things will be key to the Pelicans playoff push, there is a giant X-Factor that few, if any, teams will be able to match. The Pelicans bench unit has a chance to completely flip games, with two Sixth Man of the Year candidates surrounded by guys who are elite spot-up shooters for their position.
Games are usually won in the final five minutes, but for New Orleans, a few could be won during explosive stretches in the second quarter, just like it was last night.
31 responses to “A Most Intriguing Second Unit”
Like! But a lot of this hinges on both Jimmer and Rivers being something they have not yet shown in the NBA: quality (significantly above replacement level) reserves.
All this & no mention of the Corner Assassin, Luke Babbitt!
i thought i was dreaming listening to the game, with players even chucking 3s and passing all over the floor, we´ve never seen this team doing something close to that.
BTW what an embarrasment, last year we couldn´t even watch some regular season games(forget about preseason…)and now we go from nothing to radio? we´re talking about a company(the pels) that produces dozens of millions every year, but they act like a public high school
6thMan I really think Babbitt deserves to be a rotation player, but who do you take minutes away from? Happy to have this problem, as opposed to a lack of depth, though.
504ever They need to fit a role. Need to hit spot up three’s and Rivers need to be good defensively, while Jimmer has to be not terrible.
Their PER don’t matter, their stats in the categories the Pels are not asking them to thrive in don’t matter. Knock down open shots, play your role. Steve Kerr’s career PER (a stat I know you love) was 13.1. But he was excellent at his role. These guys have a clear role when they are on the court with Tyreke. They need to do that, and only that.
14 of 32 from behind the line…32 attempts! I know we don’t want to live and die by the 3 but certainly we want 3’s instead of long 2’s right? Mc I have felt the same way about the bombs away potential here and Babbitt is another piece available to plug that role if someone goes cold. Monty does like to stay with guys on the floor when they are on…did that with Morrow a lot last year. You were also reading my mind on the scoring vs defensive aspect of the second group…I cannot agree more. I did not listen to the broadcast but wish I did. Davis may set block records this year now that he can roam a bit more with the Turkish safety net behind him. Catch the highlights on the NBA/Pels website and see Davis reject Bosh out of the lane…my gosh he’s just 21.
Glad to see a post on here…it’s preseason so let’s get rollin!
Michael McNamara 504ever
Part of my comment was about the PER originated concept of “replacement player”, as compared with PER itself. But the bigger point is both of these guys have play to at a (much) higher level than they have shown in their career. They can do it a lot of ways.
I agree for Jimmer it is much simplier: shoot like an assassin from 3, play tolerable defense, & handle the ball adequately. For Rivers, it is more than good defense and hit spot up 3s. He has to make free throws, finish at the rim, and move from a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio towards a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio.
Can these guys do this against NBA backups? We will see.
soulbreaker I could not agree more…Just read on the Heat site that this game was the only preseason game that would not be televised in some way for them. Terrible.
The main flaw, of your intriguing second unit is Jimmer can’t get his own shot in a real game. On the defensive in, who will he guard, YOU ? I doubt you will be on the court or will you? Plus who will help Ajinca on the boards? For sure not Anderson and Ajinca is not a strong rebounder.
First game in months and not even a mention here about the Heat-Pels game??
Nithenz “We saw (or heard) this in the Pelicans first preseason game last
night, where a 17-5 run in the second quarter flipped the game and put
the Pelicans ahead for good.
Jimmer and Ryan Anderson drained three’s, while Rivers attacked the rim. And they didn’t even have Ajinca or Tyreke last night.”
kfte WTF world do you live in? Jimmer can “get his own shot” as easy as you can type crap! Do you even watch basketball? For over 2 yrs he played with selfish players where he had to “get his own shot”, and gets to the hole often. Guess he’s just not your “Type” of player…
We have a DEEP bench where guys need to realise their role and contribute accordingly. (San Antonio model)
kfte Hatin the white man or what? Show us the tape that shows any PG outscoring him in his paltry little Kings minutes. Smart was a racist like yourself and Malone is just in over his head and won’t be back next year. Where’s Smart head coaching at?? NOT!
504ever Jimmer has shot lights out the last 2 years, so on quality reserve, what are you looking for? His handles been a little suspect but that goes with the inconsistent minutes. What Pels player (starter or reserve) has put up his kind of FG %, 3pt % or PER the last 2 years? Kings fans were bewildered by his treatment. At some point with a horrible team like Sac you’ve got to give a young player minutes. Jimmer never received them.
TABDOG 504ever Some truth in what you say. We will see. However after you watch him look ok on offense don’t for get to watch him when the man he is guarding gets the ball, then weigh the two.
Your stupid, very stupid. I guess the Bulls coach is racist also. What determine my comment was racist, please explain.
TABDOG kfte Now the coach is a racist. So if you cut a white player you’re a racist. You make yourself sound stupid. He was with the Bulls and that coach cut him also. Is the bulls coach a racist? Explain how that works.
TABDOG kfte So Jimmer gets a contract for what five or ten years just to prove they aren’t racist? See how silly your comments are.
kfte When did Jimmer get cut from Bulls? Westphal played him and Smart didn’t. When the new regime took over the Kings they had already made the decision to NOT resign Jimmer based on his limited minutes……from coach Smart.
kfte NO, but please share. You picked on 3 white guys in your rant with no proof to back it up. Check Jimmer’s shots per minute. He’s got no problem “finding his shot,” and shoots a high percentage. So defend that.
kfte Thibs doesn’t change his rotation for nobody. Jimmer was picked up by the Bulls as an insurance policy and nothing more, although many Bulls fans questioned his logic in the playoffs when they couldn’t buy a basket and Jimmer was snoozing on the bench. You blasted three white guys and showed no proof. Jimmer can’t create his shot. REALLY? Proof is he has a high number of shots per minute and has a crazy percentage of makes. That’s just the FACTS that you just lied about. By the way, when calling someone stupid and using YOUR…..WOW! It’s you are or you’re but not YOUR.
kfte I live in Sac and have watched Jimmer from day one. He’s not a great defender and probably a smidge below average but far from the reputation he’s received from the media. Like Jimmer has said, if you’re a scorer you get a rep as a bad defender. Isaiah Thomas got beat off the dribble and posted up way more than Jimmer.
@TABDOG. How many black guys to I have to blasted to make you feel good about yourself? Aminu , Salmon and Xavier Henry.. Now please stop White Hoping.
The comments about racism, race, races, reese’s, peanut butter, and all manner of dairy products stop NOW.
Stay on topic, but off race. Period.
Try me.
Thank Mike for the article and Mr. Tom for the team by discussing the article and the team.
Doctor’s orders.
Try me.
I agree tell them to keep race out of it. I hate when some jackass try to read between the lines. Some of my best friends are white. However if they want to go their I am always ready.
Oh, you didn’t like that one. Ok, I will limit my negative opinions to the black players and the President.. I know that will please a lot of bloggers.
Damn, I can win. Are black players off limit?
Gee, you know I am enjoying this.
can’t we all agree to disagree some times?
I guess my point has been made.