New Orleans Pelicans Have Two Players Elite in This Area of Scoring

The New Orleans Pelicans know who to get the ball to late in the shot clock.

Mar 14, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) talks to forward Brandon Ingram (14) against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

One of the reasons why the New Orleans Pelicans acquired Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks this offseason was the organization he will bring to this team’s offense.

Last year, too often the Pelicans didn’t have a playmaker or facilitator to get the team into their sets successfully late in games. They were an abysmal crunch-time team, as they relied heavily on CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson to run their offense.

With Murray running the show, they now know whose hands the ball will be in making late-game decisions. He is an excellent playmaker who should thrive as the unquestioned lead ball handler.

But, there will be times throughout each game that some heroics will be needed. For example, late-shot clock situations are difficult to navigate.

There are some players who don’t want to ruin their shooting percentages and would rather take a shot clock violation than to heave the ball up at the end of a quarter. Alas, at some points in the game, someone has to take a "grenade."

That is the term some say when discussing shot attempts that are near the end of the shot clock. Normally, this is when the ball is put in the hands of the best shot creator on the team, hoping they can make something out of nothing.

It turns out, New Orleans has two players who excel in these unique situations.

According to NBA University, McCollum is the most efficient shooter in the NBA with 0-4 seconds remaining on the shot clock.

He doesn’t attempt anywhere near the most shots at the end of the clock, but connects on a percentage in the high 50s.

Also visible on the graph is Ingram.

He attempted about 15 more shots than McCollum and had a percentage above 42%, which is deemed to be average.

Shots at the end of the shot-clock—often referred to as grenades—are generally tightly contested. Here are the top 50 in "grenade" FGA in '23-'24

⬆️ Efficient End-Of-Shot-Clock Scoring
➡️ More End-Of-Shot-Clock Attempts

What stands out? pic.twitter.com/q5PMPU2n2F

— NBA University (@NBA_University) September 4, 2024

While most players are bunched in between 90 and 140 attempts, it should come as no surprise which two players are lapping the field in terms of attempts; New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

Both are the hubs of their teams offensively, having the ball in their hands an exorbitant amount of time. Even more impressive is that opponents know they will have the ball and they still cannot stop them.

Both Brunson and Jokic are well above league average in efficiency with 0-4 seconds remaining in possessions and are the only players with more than 150 such shot attempts.

As for the Pelicans, it's a good thing to have both Ingram and McCollum on a list such as this, something that could come in handy during important late-game situations in the playoffs.