On the eve of Wednesday’s scrimmage vs. Brooklyn, Alvin Gentry noted that none of his players “will play 40 minutes” in the dress rehearsal against the Nets. As it turns out, 40 minutes would actually represent the entirety of the scrimmage, because the NBA opted to shorten each quarter of scrimmage openers to just 10 minutes (instead of the normal 12-minute periods of a 48-minute game). The conventional game-time format will return for Saturday’s matchup vs. Denver.
It’s uncertain how the Pelicans will replace Zion Williamson in the starting lineup at power forward – or even if Wednesday’s first string will match how they’ll proceed in Zion-less situations – but Gentry reiterated that some experimentation will be part of the plan.
“I think you’ll see a lot of different lineups,” Gentry said of facing the Nets, who themselves are far more short-handed personnel-wise than the Pelicans.
Gentry recently indicated that it’s unlikely Brandon Ingram will play a lot of minutes at the four-spot due to the physical toll it can take on him, but regardless of how that role is divvied up, the Pelicans know they must lean heavily on their depth. Nicolo Melli was essentially the backup for Williamson, while JJ Redick sometimes started in a three-guard alignment prior to Williamson’s Jan. 22 debut.
“We’d love to have him here and we’d love to have him play every game,” Gentry said of Williamson. “But if he is not here, we have to have guys step up. We talk about it all the time – it’s next man up. We have a deep bench. Obviously those guys are going to have to step in and play.”
A new face
Wing defender Sindarius Thornwell spoke with New Orleans media members for the first time Tuesday, saying that he was very relieved when the Pelicans signed him recently. He was about to explore options of playing somewhere overseas, a decision that could have been delayed or complicated even more by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was like a weight off my shoulders, a sigh of relief,’ the South Carolina product said. “I was potentially having to go overseas. That process was stressful for me. (Hearing about being signed by New Orleans) was like the first time I smiled in a year.”
Thornwell coincidentally became a more familiar name among college basketball fans in his final season with the Gamecocks, who upset Frank Jackson’s Duke squad during the NCAA Tournament in ’17. Asked if there was any conversation between the new Pelicans teammates about that game, Thornwell seemed to grin behind his face covering and replied, “There wasn’t really much to talk about. We laughed about it a little bit.”
Thornwell, who played two seasons for the LA Clippers from 2017-19, indicated that the way he wants to make a claim to a role or playing time will come on the defensive end.
“I want to come in and give guys a hard time, making it difficult for scorers, making them have to work (for their points),” Thornwell said.
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Varied lineup combinations, no heavy-minute nights for Pelicans players in Nets scrimmage - Pelicans.com
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