These are three questions that the New Orleans Pelicans need answered by guard Jeremiah Fears this season.
The New Orleans Pelicans drafted point guard Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 overall pick last year. He impressed as a rookie at times, but didn't contribute much to winning basketball.
Fears posted 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists on offense on 43.4/33.0/78.9 shooting splits. A great start for a rookie. The problem is he and Derik Queen's minutes weren't great.
Both were right next to each other in the bottom-10 for total plus-minus among the rookie class. Part of that is just because the team overall was bad and they both played pretty much the entire season (Queen missed one game; Fears missed none).
That does track for Fears, though, as he was expectedly all over the place as a rookie. He had great moments, as well as plenty to grow from. Here are some questions that he needs to answer this season, and if he were to succeed on all three, the Pelicans will have a future superstar on hand:
Will the three-point shot become more consistent?
As stated above, Fears shot 33% from three. An ok start, but he was just inconsistent. In November, for instance, he shot 39.3%, his best month. That wasn't a small sample size, either, as it was actually by far the most he was on the court. The next month, though, that plummeted to 26.7%, his worst month. By March, he was up to 39.0% again. In April, it was 31.8%.
Players fluctuate all the time, but that was more than average. Fears can very clearly shoot the ball, but New Orleans would love it if he could find a bit more of a rhythm with his shot, as it would finally provide some extra spacing.
Has decision-making improved?
One thing that Fears deserves more credit for is how much he improved as a point guard over his rookie year. He started like he was in college, playing a ton of hero ball. The Pelicans didn't let him do that, though, as it's the NBA and there is more talent around him. As his first season progressed, he started to set others up for success better. It was one of the reasons the team benched him, so he responded well. Would expect to see another jump this year after a long offseason of work. It's different implementing it into games, though. But that's what camp is for.
What can he offer on defense?
A main reason why Fears has been widely expected to start the year on the bench is because of his defense. He was consistently targeted on that side of the ball, as someone who is considered shiftier than strong. He did come away with 1.2 steals per night, so he used that to his advantage as much as possible. The guard has been in the gym consistently this offseason, though, so perhaps he was able to add a little strength, which could go a long way.
