Phoenix Suns Observation #5: Pelicans Look a lot like the Suns!
New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green was the Phoenix Suns top assistant last season under Monty Williams. Naturally, Green took much of Phoenix’s system and made it fit with the Pelicans. According to Suns reporter Kellan Olson, Williams even voted for Green as the NBA’s Coach of the Year due to his steady leadership through a tumultuous first season as Pelicans Head Coach.
Williams said he wanted to help Green get through that first time being a head coach as much as possible. He stated the obvious, which is that he's biased and they are best friends, but feels Green did a great job this season keeping his team together through so many changes.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) April 11, 2022
If you look closely, there are so many more close comparisons between these two teams:
- New Pelicans point guard CJ McCollum looks like Chris Paul orchestrating the Suns offense (McCollum took over for Paul as President of the NBA Player’s Association in August 2021)
- Brandon Ingram’s offensive arsenal and skillset is very similar to Devin Booker’s
- Pelicans rookie guard Trey Murphy knocks down threes just like Cameron Johnson
- Both teams insist on playing traditional centers at all times
New Orleans is going to be a tough matchup for the Suns due to this compatibility. But at the end of the day, the Suns are the best team in the NBA for a good reason. The Suns resemble a perfectly-tuned machine that can systematically pick apart any imperfection displayed by their opponent.
The Pelicans have had an incredible turnaround season, but they are about two seasons away from looking as finely-tuned and as well-organized as these Suns.