Frank Vogel calls New Orleans Pelicans 'big-time and a real concern' for Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans have some commonalities entering their Friday matchup in The Big Easy.
Both teams have won eight of their 11 games after Christmas.
The Suns and Pelicans each have high-scoring trios. Phoenix has its Big 3 in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. New Orleans has its high-scoring trio in their former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram.
Suns starter Grayson Allen and Ingram are coming off franchise-record performances from deep. Allen's nine made 3s matched Phoenix's single-game franchise best in a comeback home win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Ingram's seven 3s in New Orleans' home win over the Charlotte Hornets are his team's single-game best.
Phoenix and New Orleans lost in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, of the In-Season Tournament to eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Pelicans coach Willie Green was a Phoenix assistant under former coach Monty Williams during the Suns' 2021 finals run.
Two advantages where the Pelicans might edge the Suns are size and 3-point shooting.
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Williamson maneuvers like a big rig truck, tough to stop when he's at full speed on his half-court set drives and in the open court. Ingram and Trey Murphy III are both 6-foot-8, and streaky shooters who use their length well to shoot over defenders. Pelicans' bigs Larry Nance Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas are tough to keep off the glass and are solid finishers for their leaping ability and lumberjack-like girth, respectively.
In addition, New Orleans is the NBA's third-ranked in 3-point percentage (38.7%), and the Suns are 10th (36.7%).
"They gotta guard us. They create some problems for sure with matchups and whatnot. It’s something we’ve talked at length about, but with all these things, we got an offensive lineup that is equally as challenging to guard," Suns coach Frank Vogel said at Thursday's practice.
“They’re further along in their continuity than we are, and their system, because they’ve been together longer.”
Frank Vogel on my question about similarities and differences between #Suns and their next opponent #Pelicans on Friday.
Both teams have won 8 of last 11 games. pic.twitter.com/C8LnZaRMqs— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) January 18, 2024
One thing that Phoenix's Big 3 has far better than New Orleans' Williamson, McCollum, and Ingram is their impact on both ends of the floor.
The net rating is plus-15 in the nine games that Durant, Booker, and Beal have been in Phoenix's starting lineup, per Cleaning the Glass. New Orleans' negative-1.7 net rating with their top three players is far behind from Phoenix's said lineup.
However, Phoenix is currently eighth and has been low in the standings since December.
New Orleans has won 13 of 19 games since that semifinal loss to L.A. on Dec. 7, and rose from floundering at around the Western Conference standings Nos. 7 through 10 spots to fifth.
That will make Vogel and the Suns not take this team lightly, as both teams are progressing.
“They’re playing really good basketball," Vogel said. "They made 25 3s last night against Charlotte, and if Brandon Ingram’s gonna make seven 3s with everything else he can do, they’re a legit team. They’re big-time and a real concern. I would say they’re further along in their continuity than we are, and their system because they’ve been together longer. I like our chances against anyone, but they’re playing great basketball.”
Among the differences between the Suns and Pelicans is that the Pelicans’ top trio was formed after the team drafted Williamson in 2019. Ingram came from the Lakers to New Orleans in a trade package for Anthony Davis that same year, and McCollum was traded from Portland in the 2021-22 season.
The Suns’ Big 3 just came together this past summer.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns coach Frank Vogel calls Pelicans 'big-time and a real concern'
