The Miami Heat are back in South Beach following a five-game road trip and welcome in the second-worst team in professional basketball: The New Orleans Pelicans.
Early in the season, Miami is one of the top teams in the East and New Orleans is too bad to even count as a trap game type of team. Despite the top team in the East, the Washington Wizards, coming to town for the first part of a home & home set. (I cannot believe I just typed that the Wizards are the best team in the East).
Furthermore, the Pelicans are dead last in defensive rating and bottom-five in points per game. New Orleans is not the team you worry about, especially in the first game back home after a long road trip.
The pelicans are not a team that you lose to, but that does not mean there will not be parts that will not scare the Heat. That part that can scare Miami is the roaring tide of points called Brandon Ingram.
Yes, he’s fright-worthy.
Miami Heat: Brandon Ingram’s Very Good, But Pelicans Are Very Bad
Ingram is averaging 25 points per game, the 12th best mark in the league. It is coming on 45-43-81 shooting splits from the field, three, and free throw line.
Ingram is having his best scoring and rebounding (6.5 RPG) season ever, plus when considering the jump in volume, one of his most efficient seasons.
He also attacks what the Heat struggle to defend. Against guards, Miami is one of the worst teams defending the rim, allowing 65 percent shooting within five feet.
Miami’s defense is also exceptionally average from 20-24 feet out, allowing 37 percent shooting. Both are areas where Ingram excels, shooting 51 percent inside 10 feet and a career-high 43 percent from three.
Despite all that, Miami’s defense allows the fewest points per game against opposing guards in the NBA. This defense is still a stout group and as previously mentioned, these are areas Ingram can take advantage of, though not ways the Pelicans score.
Even if Jimmy Butler returns (at the time of this writing, his status is unknown), the defense should remain sound. Miami’s defense ranked ninth against guards over the past three games.
So if the Heat should not be worried, why am I mentioning it?
Miami Heat: Brandon Ingram Can Be Jarring, But Pels Just Not Good Enough
Ingram is a player that bounced from a weird Los Angeles Lakers team to an even stranger New Orleans squad. But changes and seemingly constant roster turnover have not kept Ingram from becoming a better player.
He is a more dynamic scorer, able to get to the basket instead of settling to live on the perimeter. The Duke product can take over quarters and games with his offense, using that offense to create shots for other players more in the past two seasons than in his first three.
Heat fans will have to buckle up for an Ingram run, at some point, during this game. Ingram is the type of guard that turns your belly when he dices up your defense or has you elbow your friend to catch the replay.
Unfortunately for Ingram, the 24-year-old is caught in the Pelicans basketball quagmire, so there will be no awards or headlines for his offensive prowess. The NBA media is not having an Ingram conversation for multiple news cycles this season.
Ingram will only get to shine when playing top-level opponents. So as Miami warms up for the real challenge of the Wizards, enjoy an Ingram game and try not to get nervous when he starts cooking.
Just appreciate the young NBA talent, even on a bad team. It’s one of life’s great pleasures.
But they still won’t win.