Pelicans Looking To Build Consistency Heading Into Second Preseason Game

New Orleans did some things well in their opening game that they need to consistently do heading into the regular season.

Feb 23, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

On Sunday, the New Orleans Pelicans will face the Miami Heat on the road in both teams' second preseason game. The Pelicans' Friday game against the Orlando Magic was canceled because of Hurricane Milton, and no makeup date was scheduled. New Orleans defeated Orlando on Monday 106-104 in their only game at the Smoothie King Center.

The team trotted out its smaller lineup in the first game, which will be its hallmark, with no traditional experienced center on the roster. Orlando outrebounded the Pelicans 44-40, but New Orleans won the points in the paint battle 42-36 and committed five fewer turnovers on the afternoon. Coach Willie Green says there will be nights when the team needs to generate more turnovers because they've lost the rebounding battle.

"We want to win the rebounding battle," Coach Green told reporters after practice on Friday. "We want to turn teams over, get deflections and steals. We want to be good at both, but we understand there will be nights when we come up short in the rebounding battle, and hopefully we can gain extra possessions by turning teams over."

A positive sign from Monday that the team can build upon is closing games. Last season, New Orleans was 0-24 when trailing after three quarters and blew multiple double-digit leads down the stretch. The Pelicans used a late 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter against the Magic to secure their first victory in the preseason. If Sunday's game comes down to a nailbiter, New Orleans wants to see similar execution down the stretch to pull out a victory.

Coach Green says the starters will play slightly more than the first game on Sunday, with the max threshold being about 25 minutes. Pelicans star Zion Williamson shined in his 19 minutes of play, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the first half. New Orleans forward Brandon Ingram will not play on Sunday. Coach Green says the former all-star is healthy but will only play in the team's preseason finale against the Houston Rockets.

The Pelicans starting five on Monday included Williamson, Herb Jones, Daniel Theis, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray. The same five expect to start versus the Heat on Sunday against a Miami team that lost their preseason opener to the Charlotte Hornets. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will play against the Pelicans after both played 16 minutes in their preseason opener.

New Orleans heads to Houston in their final preseason game before opening the regular season at home against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 23.