The Pelicans were supposed to be an exciting team this season, where Zion Williamson and a supporting cast of younger and veteran pieces tried to push for a playoff spot in a changed Western conference.
Instead, Zion hasn’t played yet due to an injury suffered during the preseason. He’s set to make his debut January 22 against the Spurs. Despite this, Brandon Ingram has emerged into an all-star caliber player and the leading candidate for Most Improved Player while keeping the Pelicans afloat, with their 16-26 record somehow just four games out of the No. 8 seed in the West.
After struggling as a rookie in 2016-17 with the Lakers despite his high draft status (No. 2 pick), Ingram has improved each season since, but was dealt to New Orleans before this season when the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis.
After a career-best 2018-19 campaign, Ingram began to show the potential worthy of a lottery pick and arriving in New Orleans as a number two option to pair with Zion, the Pelicans believed they had their future secured.
In the absence of Zion, Ingram has become a viable No. 1 scoring option, blowing away his numbers from last season. Although all-star selections are hard to come by in the West, he absolutely deserves a spot in Chicago, and that became clear against the Jazz on Thursday night.
The Pelicans ended Utah’s league-best 10-game winning streak, with Ingram outdueling fellow all-star candidate Donovan Mitchell and putting on the best performance of his career. Mitchell tied a career-high with 46 points, but Ingram outshined him, dropping 49 points (49!?!). While Mitchell was a bit inefficient – 16-of-34 from the field – Ingram shot 15-for-25 from the field and went 15 of 20 from the free throw line. More impressive was his clutch play. Ingram scored 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, making the shot at the end of regulation that gave the Pelicans a brief lead and then making five free throws to put the game away in the extra period.
Simply put, Ingram put on a show against the Jazz yet again after scoring 35 against them just 11 days ago in a two-point loss.
So after seeing yet another star performance from Ingram I came to one conclusion. He needs to be an All-Star, and I hope the coaches – who pick the reserves – take notice. He’s having a career year and just had a career-game. He’s averaging 25.8 points per game, good for 10th in the league. His free throw percentage has jumped from 67.5 percent to 86. Effective field goal percentage is up from 51.8 percent to 54.8 while taking 18.7 shots per game, 4.7 more than last year.
In other words, he’s putting up big numbers, and doing it efficiently. Add in 4.3 assists per game and 6.8 rebounds (both career highs), Ingram only improves his chances at an all-star nod. I don’t know who the coaches will pick and there are a lot of deserving candidates – Mitchell and Rudy Gobert among them – but Ingram needs to be in Chicago for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. I just hope everyone takes notice.
Stats and record courtesy of Basketball Reference. Stats correct as of January 17, 2020.
