The New Orleans Pelicans’ season hasn’t started off the way they wanted it to.
At 3-5, they’re 14th in the Western Conference. Four starters —Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson, and Herb Jones —are injured. This has contributed mightily to the Pelicans ranking 26th in points per game (107.8) and 22nd in offensive rating (109.9).
However, there have been a couple of silver linings for New Orleans.
Brandon Ingram is playing at an All-Star level. Prior to their injuries, McCollum and Williamson were trending in the right direction. In fact, McCollum was arguably playing the best defense of his career. 2024 No. 21 pick Yves Missi looks as advertised defensively. 2023 No. 14 pick Jordan Hawkins is taking the top off of defenses, scoring a career-high 17.6 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting from three.
Then there’s Brandon Boston Jr., who is playing the best basketball of his career. A top-10 high school recruit in 2020, Boston is currently on a two-way contract with the Pelicans.
Pelicans’ Brandon Boston Making The Most Of New Opportunity
This season, Boston is playing a career-high 20.6 minutes per game. This has led to him averaging career-highs of 9.8 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. In his last three contests, one of which saw him start for the first time this season, he’s really caught his stride.
The 22-year-old has posted 16.0 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in that time, shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three. His numbers have certainly been eye-catching but it goes past the stat sheet.
His shooting touch on his jumpers, be it in the midrange or outside, has been soft. He’s playing with a great pace, not getting too sped up. Yet, he’s also been decisive. With his length, comfort handling the ball, and court vision, he’s a legitimate offensive weapon.
Defensively, Boston has shown a knack for using his length to force ball-handlers to pick up their dribble or take tough shots.
That isn’t to say he’s played mistake-free basketball. Nonetheless, he’s had far more good plays than bad. For a player who might’ve been on his way out of the league without a good showing this season, there isn’t more that they could’ve asked for.
Is He Really Rounding The Corner?
This isn’t the first time Boston has had really solid production on the NBA stage.
As a rookie, he scored in double-figures 15 times and notched at least one steal in 19 games. The next season, he had two 20-point games despite seeing the court sparingly. He ended the 2023-24 regular season averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.3 steals per game in the Los Angeles Clippers’ last three contests.
His numbers from his G League stints are also worth mentioning. Boston was getting assigned to the Clippers’ G League affiliate every season, playing 14 total games. In that time, he averaged 24.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 assists per game.
However, Boston seemed like one of those players who was too good for the G League but not good enough to be in a contender’s rotation. He was just too inefficient and inconsistent; too raw. With that being said, though Boston is playing well now, he needs to show more to prove he’s rounding the corner in his development.
The good thing for him is that the Pelicans’ mounting injuries are giving him ample opportunity to do that.
