This Is Exactly What The Pelicans Needed...

This is exactly what the Pelicans needed as they got their first win of the season last night against the Sacramento Kings, thanks to strong play from Jeremiah Fierce, Herb Jones, Zion Williamson, and others who contributed greatly into this game. We're going to talk about the game and who impacted this game and so much more inside this edition of Pelicans Digest. What's good with it, my people? Smells of the MIC back once again inside Pelicans Digest. Thank you so much for tapping in with us. Hope you're feeling good today as the Pelicans get on the board and get their first win of the season last night against the Sacramento Kings, 132-120 off a big night from Jeremiah Fears, who delivered 22 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds. And as we've been arguing, this guy plays better when you don't have DeJounte Murray on the side of him. You just, you got to let this kid cook and start building around him. But we're going to talk about that and so much more inside this episode. 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And once again, we got to thank our friends at Calshi for sponsoring today's video. As we get into the headlines today here in Pelicans Digest, Jeremiah Fears leads the Pelicans past the Kings with almost a triple. Double and strong action from Zion Williamson as well with 22.6 rebounds and two assists. Also, Trey Murphy put in 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Thank And also an incredible night from Herb Jones who came in and produced not only defensively but offensively. Look at your starting lineup. For the first time this season, your starting lineup for the Pelicans are in the plus. So, what does that tell you? You probably need to make this your starting lineup you. for the time being until it proves otherwise. Zion, Fierce, Trey, Herb, and Carlo. As you see, Karla Makovic also had a plus six. Again, you can argue it's against the Kings, but at the same time, for the first time this season, your entire starting lineup finishes with a plus. Ain't that something? But of course, it was all led by Jeremiah Fears, who came in and played a point guard position with excellence. 22 points, eight rebounds, and 13 assists. Was a plus three on the night, and there's almost 30 minutes to play. Also picked up two steals. Uh, still a little issue with the turnovers. Still a little issue with the turnovers. But he also had four blocked shots. Ain't that something? And we've been screaming for the last couple of days that Jeremiah Pierce does not need to be playing alongside Jontae Murray. Jontae Murray, as you know, did not play in this game and was out celebrating the birth of his child. And, of course, Jordan Poole was absent with an ankle issue. So, listen, this one breakout game does not settle the rotation. But I think it's making it pretty clear that the rotation needs to involve Pierce. As the main point guard, the most encouraging part was how comfortably he balanced scoring with getting everyone else involved, according to David Grubb on Sports Illustrated, who wrote about him today. So his playmaking ability and also, as you saw, his assists went up crazy compared to the other games. You see in the first couple of games, he only had just a couple of assists. You see in this game, he exploded for 13. And was able to get the ball to other guys. Was a facilitator. Playing the point guard position the way you're supposed to be playing. And taking advantage of your shoot and your points when you see the opportunity. Smart point guard play from Jeremiah Field. All right? And the Pelicans. Uh, with, uh, his pro pals talk, talked about on Twitter last night that this is the best Jeremiah Fears he's looked all season as he wrapped up the second quarter. A lot of people forget that he's only 20 years old and it takes time and it's going to be a lot of highs and lows, but last night was definitely a big high for Fears, who also did a great job scoring all over the court, uh, in this game. If you take a look at his shot selection and the shot, uh, chart, uh, Was still a little shaky on the threes. Took a couple of threes that I had a little questions about as he went 9-16. Steve, um... But a lot of it was attacking the paint. And he also had some great three-point shots after the break whenever he got open. So, again, again, there's nothing I can complain about with Jeremiah Fears in this game. But this is something we've all been talking about. As y'all have left in the comments, y'all have pointed this out, that the Murray-Fierce combo just ain't working. One needs to start, one needs to come off the bench. And right now, I'm arguing that Fierce needs to start now without Murray. Murray needs to be the one to come off the bench. Now, that's a risky assessment considering that you put him with Poole and Matherin and all the ball hogs on that same lineup. That can get a little risky. Because as of right now, the bench is providing some great play as well. And matter of fact, we're going to talk about that, how the bench played in this game, as the Pelicans bench overwhelms the Kings reserves. And Herb Jones, of course, set the tone for that with a big night as well. The Pelicans reserves outscore Sacramento 41-8 on the night. And Herb Jones returned to the starting lineup and finished up plus 27. Again, look at that number, plus 27. For Herb Jones. And he also just affected the game in so many ways. Being in the right position to get steals. And also kept Zach Levine under control. I think that's something that a lot of people tend not to pay attention to. We get so caught up on Herb's shooting and his offense. But last night he provided great offense. Cutting into the lane when opportunities presented itself. But just mainly keeping the ball away from Zach Levine. Zach Levine still scored in the double digits, but at the same time, let's say Zach Levine gets his. Let's say he goes off for 20-something points. Pelicans losing. Okay, Pelicans are losing this game. DeAndre Hunter and Precious Achua and A-Cup were doing enough damage. Especially Acuff. He was doing enough damage. And Acuff is incredible. He came in front of that. That kid scores. He gets baskets. He gets buckets. Passing is another question, but he gets buckets. But the fact that Herb Jones is out there on the floor affects winning. Every analytical person that does a numbers run on the Pelicans will tell you that the Pelicans win when Herbert Jones is on the floor. Okay? Also, Derrick Queen, a little slow night offensively and on the rebounding side. He was getting done in by Sabonis, but still finished with a plus eight because he was holding his own in a lot of situations, disrupting passes and other things. Had a slow night on the scoring aspect of it with just nine points and two rebounds. But again, plus eight on the floor. Affecting their play is something you don't see in the stat sheet. Also, Ben Matherin, finally. Finally, five. Finally. Been trying, been saying all this so far in these first couple of games. Wouldn't have been mad if they weren't going to do something. Well, he provided some offense last night and, in my opinion, played better defense, especially when it came down to his assignment on A-Cup. I saw him not get affected by the Sabonis screens. He was able to jump out and get ahead of those screens and keep a body near A-Cup or any of these other guys as they were driving into the paint. That's why he had a plus nine on the night as well. So, but, of course, the highlight is Herb Jones, man. The highlight is Herb Jones. The fact that you have been holding this man out and restricting his minutes is one of the reasons why, once again, he had to come out there and show and prove why he's important and valuable to this roster. A plus 27 on the night. The highest-rated Pelican on the night. And Sadiq Bae, sorry, it just wasn't Sadiq Bae's night, and I get that. We still love Sadiq Bae. I think he only had nine points on the night. But also, again, They were able to affect things off the court. And so, again, a great job by the Pelicans showcasing their depth in this game. But the supporting cast, even Trenton Wofford. Shout out to Trenton Wofford. I think he had like two or three steals on the night. So, as David Grubb pointed out, he grazed Herb Jones as an A in the bench of B-. Mather and the base applied reserve scoring, which was needed. And Wofford added defensive activity. But, of course, Derrick Queen and his turnovers remain a concern. But, you know, again, he's still young, and hopefully he continues to work on that, and we continue to develop and work with him on that. But, of course, y'all pointed out in the comments that it makes no sense that when you're dead last in defensive rating, that you give Poole and Mathery more minutes than her, who's your all-NBA defender. This is something we've been arguing about for weeks, as the officer has been saying in the comments. So, you know, it's good to see her getting back out there. It's good to get back out there. Next up, and finally, we want to talk about Zion Williamson. He delivered on both ends of the floor last night and really had an incredible stat line when you think about it. He had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. And this is something that I've been big on with Zion as far as getting more active on the rebounding side of the things and also getting more work on the assist side of things. Zion has got to start getting better rebounds. He's in the paint all the time, and he did that last night. Fought hard to get a lot of rebounds and finished the game with another 22-point game. He had 25 the night before with Denver, but finished with a plus five on the floor. A lot of plus ratings all across the floor last night. As we take a look at his shot chart as well, didn't shoot any, don't think he, he didn't take any threes last night, just was mainly attacking the paint. I think Sacramento did a good job respecting Zion in that three. And that's the thing. They're going to start respecting him in that three. If he takes it, they're going to start respecting him. And I think that's what happened in a lot of the cases. He would get to that three-point area, and somebody would rush out there to go get him and go try to cover him. And next thing you know, he's all in the time to shop, charge, charge right on in and get that basket. Let's get started. So his impact went beyond scoring. As Pro Pals Talk pointed out, Zion can roll out of bed and score 20 every night. But if this team wants to win basketball games, he has to have more performances like he did last night with the six rebounds and five steals. That's right, Zion had five steals last night. That's where you impact the game in so many other ways and forms. So again, another great night for Zion Williamson, a much better, comprehensive night for Zion Williamson. That's the kind of all-star stat line you can put up when you have five steals and six rebounds. So, an impressive night for Zion Williamson. You've got to make this repeatable, though. Finish the chances that Fierce creates for him. Because him and Fierce, I think, did a great job working together, along with Trey Murphy as well. Stay active in those passing lanes. He was getting in those passing lanes, slapping balls away, and getting steals. Finish possessions on the glass. When he's near the glass, you got to get that rebound. Don't just stand there and look at it. Get back up there and get it again. And he's been doing that. And also, but that's the main thing for everybody on this team. You got to improve them damn free throws, man. Hit your free throws. They're free for a reason. They are free for a reason. Easy. So what's up next for the Pelicans? Of course, we talked about it. They're heading up against Atlanta, but they have got to build on this win. They have got to find a way to build on it, and I think you build on this win by keeping Jeremiah Fierce playmaking and keeping him the responsible playmaker. Yes, he's still young, but let him continue to work that out and develop it. Keep productive defensive combinations together. That start lineup was a good defensive combination. Even when they subbed in Matherin with Fierce, I mean, with Herb, it was still a good defensive combination. So keep that going and demand sharper opening and closing stretches, especially the closing. Now, listen, this wasn't a perfect game. They still almost gave it away in the fourth. They went into the fourth quarter, and Sacramento was able to erode the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter. So it still is shaky on how this team closes out. And finding the right rotation for the team that closes out. I think I like Derrick Queen in that situation a little bit more now. You know, we got to still figure out that closing issue. Because it's still an issue. But let me know what your thoughts is as I get up out of here and go enjoy the Friday. Should Jeremiah Fierce keep the primary playmaking duties? A. Yes, continue to build on him with this game. B. Do you want to still see if him and Murray can work out? Or C. It depends on deciding on the matchup. Let me know your thoughts. Should Jeremiah Fears keep the primary playmaking duties? Let me know your thoughts as we wrap up this edition of Pelican's Digest. 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