Brandon Ingram claims Pelicans are contenders: ‘New Orleans never had a team like this’

The Pelicans have won 13 out of their last 20 matches, and with three regular-season games left, they are set for the Playoffs. Sitting in the Western Conference’s sixth spot with a 48-32 mark, many players inside the roster believe they are serious contenders for this year’s title.

According to Brandon Ingram, the squad has been paying “more attention to detail” and “more focus on the game plan” ever since the All-Star break. The star explained how they are now holding each other accountable as a team and have finally “got in a rhythm of how we’re going to play.”

“Willie’s been doing a good job,” said Ingram, who has been injured for the past couple of weeks. “Some days where we don’t necessarily want to practice, we’re in there practicing. Just for us to be prepared for the next game. A lot of teams don’t really, really practice in March. I think our approach is different. We’re learning more.”

Brandon Ingram is expected to make his return on Sunday for Pelicans-Lakers, per @ChrisBHaynes.

Ingram has been out since March 21 with a left knee injury. pic.twitter.com/vwX2JvrVt0

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 11, 2024

In the past campaigns, the New Orleans roster has suffered many injuries that affected their overall performances. Now despite Ingram missing out on the last 10 games, Jose Alvarado falling in and back from injury, and Zion Williamson hurting his finger but making his way back a few games later, the team has maintained their winning path.

Brandon is expected to return this Sunday against the Lakers, right before the postseason begins. “I think that’s what it takes, every team needs a little bit of luck,” the forward said. “The injury bug hasn’t been around.”

Coach Willie Green has also brought out the best in his stars, and one great example is how CJ McCollum is playing some of his best basketball in his 11th year in the NBA. “Obviously, I like to play iso, I like pick-and-roll,” the veteran expressed. “I’m one of the best midrange shooters in the last decade, based on numbers and percentages. But that’s not what we need every possession. We need somebody to space the floor.”

McCollum is not only catch-and-shooting threes far more frequently at 5.3 per 36 minutes, but he’s also more efficient with shots at 41.7% on 9.2 3-point attempts, which is up from 7.4 per 36 minutes last campaign.

“Sometimes I need to be an orchestrator, sometimes I need to be in the corner, sometimes I’m in scoring mode, but I just do whatever it takes for us to win,” CJ said. “For us to win, somebody in the starting lineup has to shoot 3s, right? Everybody can’t play in the midrange.”

Most Pelicans players recognized they’ve never played before for such a strong and united New Orleans team

“New Orleans never had a team like this,” Brandon Ingram said about this 2023/24 season roster. The 26-year-old is currently playing his best playmaking and defensive campaign in his career, and believes that a lot of it has to do with the locker room’s competitive energy.

“I haven’t been a winner in the league, right?” the forward said. “And this is the best team that I’ve been on. So I’m learning different things. I’m learning some nights to sacrifice, some nights are not going to be my night.”New Orleans never had a team like this.”

Other like Larry Nance Jr. have acknowledged their teammates professionalism in the latter part of the campaign, and is convinced that their star players have what it takes to go all the way. “Our guys are BI and Z,” he said. “They are who’s going to take us to where we need to be. And CJ has done an awesome job of changing his game, tuning his game to their frequency.”

“Honestly it feels like things have been coming together, slowly, since the start of the year,” Nance Jr. added. “I feel like every month of the season, we just got 10% better, 10% better, 10% more comfortable.”