When the New Orleans Pelicans
were missing the services of sharpshooter Trey Murphy III to start
the season, head coach Willie Green turned to rookie Jordan
Hawkins. The 21-year-old from Connecticut can shoot the lights out
and he filled in the shooter role nicely, becoming a release valve
for drive and kicks to stretch out the defense.
In nine games as a starter,
Hawkins averaged 15.4 points while playing 35 minutes a game. As
the Pelicans got healthier, his minutes decreased. For his first 20
games, Hawkins averaged 26 minutes a game, stepping up as a
reliable bench piece even as a rookie.
However, once Murphy returned,
Green relegated Hawkins back to the bench, and he hasn’t seen
daylight since. Over his last 20 games, the shooting guard has
averaged just 9 minutes per game (including four DNPs). He has been
buried on the bench behind guys like Jose Alvarado, Dyson Daniels,
and Naji Marshall — all of who have played
specific roles for the Pelicans over the past two years.
Despite this up-and-down role,
Hawkins has delivered every time he has been given an
opportunity.
While shorthanded against the
Dallas Mavericks, Green started Hawkins again and the rookie had 34
points with 6 triples on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. He added
5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, leading the Pelicans as they
stole a game on the road without Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson
and Murphy.
Hawkins has shown signs of
improvement as the season has progressed. In his first few games, the usual scouting
report on him was to run him off the three-point line. But on two
separate occasions in the first quarter against the Mavs, he
displayed an expanded way of attacking closeouts: dropping it off
to his teammates twice (one to Daniels and one to Herb Jones) for
an assist.
Improving his playmaking and
consistently doing stuff like this would be the next step in his
development and allow him to earn significant minutes
again.
Another area where he could
improve is the in-between game. While he doesn’t have that elite
burst that allows him to separate from defenders to get to the rim,
he can just stop and shoot the pull-up jumper. Against the Mavs, Hawkins drilled three of
these mid-range jumpers.
Given his natural ability to
stretch out the defense because of his threat from deep, knocking
down those middies will be essential to earn a place in Green’s
rotation once again.
Hawkins’ impact has become
undeniable and he clearly provides value to this team. With his
ability to stretch the floor as a respected shooter, teams won’t
sag off of him that much compared to his fellow reserves. This
gives Williamson and Ingram more space when operating from inside
the paint, and they know they have another guy they can kick out to
when they get doubled and they trust him to knock down threes
consistently.
In a league that values spacing
more than anything, Hawkins should have a place in Green’s
rotation.
