Just three minutes into the second quarter Saturday night, Lester Quinones threw a pass to Jeremiah Fears.
Fears, the New Orleans Pelicans No. 7 overall draft pick, buried a 3-pointer.
That pass by Quinones was the last assist of the night for the Pelicans. They went the final 27 minutes without another assist, which tells you all you need to know about why the Pelicans were on the wrong end of a 94-81 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Pelicans finished the game with six assists: four in the first quarter and two in the first three minutes of the second quarter.
“We’ve got to have more ball movement,” said Pelicans' Summer League coach Corey Brewer. “We are running stuff, but everybody is (playing iso ball). It’s a little bit on me. I’ve got to put them in situations to move the ball. We got to run more motion stuff.”
The Pelicans looked every bit like a young team playing just their second game together.
The Lakers, meanwhile, were much more cohesive in what was their fifth game together. (The Lakers played three games in the California Classic Summer League before the start of the regular Summer League).
The Lakers had 24 assists, equaling the number the Minnesota Timberwolves had against the Pelicans in the Summer League opener Thursday. The Pelicans had just 13 assists in that game. So that’s 19 assists in two games, a subpar 9.5 assists per game for a team that drafted a point guard in Fears and a forward known for his ability to pass in Derik Queen.
Fears and Queen have combined for six total assists through their first two games. Fears had two in the first game and none in the second. Queen had three in the first game and one against the Lakers.
You can attribute those low numbers to the growing pains for rookies getting their first taste of NBA action while adjusting from the college game. As far as the Pelicans as a team, you can chalk some of the low assist numbers to a roster with guys trying to prove they belong in the NBA. Sharing the ball isn’t always a priority in Summer League play. The ball became stagnant more often than not in Saturday’s loss.
Fears made just 5 of the 21 shots he took. Fears’ 3-pointer on the Pelicans’ final assist of the night was the only shot he made on his first 11 attempts. Many of his shot attempts came up empty as he drove to the basket.
“I like the aggressiveness, but we’ve got to make some layups,” Brewer said. “You have to look at film and make rim decisions. You’ve got to make (the shot) or you’ve got to kick it out, which is something he’s going to learn. You’d rather him do it now than later. It’s good that he’s getting there (to the basket).”
Fears got going in the third quarter and ended up finishing with 15 points.
“Just continue to stay aggressive,” Fears said. “When you stay aggressive, everything else will open up.”
Queen, the Pelican’s other first round draft pick, recorded his second straight double double. Queen finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds to go along with an assist, a steal and a blocked shot. But he shot just 4 of 12 from the floor.
It's just two games into Summer League play, so it's way too early to assess what Fears and Queen will become.
Antonio Reeves, the Pels’ second round draft in 2024, finished with 20 points to go with his 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Micah Peavy, the Pelicans second-round draft pick, didn’t suit up for the game due to an ankle injury in Thursday’s game against Minnesota. He was replaced in the lineup by Quinones, who led the Pelicans in scoring in the first game with 20 points. This time, Quinones led the team in assists…… with TWO.
Four other players (Queen, Keion Brooks, Hunter Dickinson and Christian Shumate) had one each.
That won't get it done.