NBA AM: Green Light Galloway Excelling With Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are making a playoff push in the Western Conference. After winning their fourth game in a row versus the New York Knicks, the Pelicans are now 1.5 games out the eighth seed.

A big reason for the team’s success has been the sharp-shooting of Langston Galloway. Galloway, who signed with the Pelicans this past offseason, got off to a slow start this season. However, he has steadily improved throughout the campaign. Galloway is proving to be one of the league’s elite late-game perimeter shooters. With his no-conscience shooter’s mentality, you don’t have to tell Galloway twice to let it fly.

Basketball Insiders caught up with Galloway to discuss his transition to the Pelicans, the changes he has adapted this season to improve his performance, and how he got his new nickname in New Orleans.

Rauchbach: What is the biggest difference you have found transitioning from the Knicks to the Pelicans on the court this season? What’s the biggest change?

Galloway: “The biggest change on the court is the pace of our team. We are out there trying to score 100 points a game and play great defense. The main thing is the freedom to move and things that can work with pick-and-roll. It is definitely a lot better, and I am definitely enjoying it.”

Rauchbach: Are you finding different ways to score in Coach Alvin Gentry’s offense when compared to last year? How are you scoring differently this year?

Galloway: “I definitely worked on it real hard this summer. I worked on a lot of ball screens and just how to find different ways to get easier buckets. I think working with [trainer] Drew Hanlen this summer definitely helped out. With Coach Gentry, he really is a great offensive coach… he wants us to go out there and play free and play with a green light. Especially with myself, he gives me the green light to go out there. He gives us the confidence to go out there [and] keep doing your thing. Go out there and play great defense, but at the same time offensively be aggressive.”

Rauchbach: I was reading that you picked up the nickname Green Light Galloway this season with the Pelicans?

Galloway: “(laughs) Yeah, they gave me a nickname. One of the reporters down here gave me that nickname. It seems like it is sticking right now. I am trying to see what’s going to happen with it, but as of right now, I am just out there having fun. Whatever happens happens.”

Rauchbach: From what I understand, they nicknamed you that because you really have no conscience when you are shooting the ball. Where did that mentality come from?

Galloway: “I think my confidence has grown with all the work I have been putting in. Like I said, all the work I have been putting in with Drew Hanlen and with Pure Sweat, and also just the work I have been putting in the gym… A lot of late nights to get up a lot of shots and just the confidence I have in my shot. I know that once I cross half-court, I feel like I am in range to knock down the shot, so that’s definitely the confidence I have [from] my teammates, that they continue to fill me with. They always tell me, ‘Hey the next shot is going in.” And I am like, ‘Hey, I know it’s going in.’ I might miss 10 in a row, but that 11th one is going to go in.”

Rauchbach: You started the season off slowly, averaging 3.9 points through October, but have rebounded nicely over the past couple of months. In December, you averaged 11.6 points and had a career-high 26 points against the Grizzlies. What has allowed you to put up those numbers as of late?

Galloway: “I think I am just getting more comfortable. I think the first couple of games we definitely had some great opponents that we faced, but at the same time, I was just trying to get used to playing back home. Definitely a little nerve-wracking playing back at home, but just [had to] get comfortable again. But lately, I am getting more comfortable and enjoying having the family there and just loving the whole environment of playing down here in New Orleans.”

Rauchbach: Did you tweak your preparation throughout the October/November time frame in order to get you back on track, like getting more shots up, watching more film?

Galloway: “Yeah, I definitely stayed in the gym a lot longer. There were definitely a lot of long nights, and we would go back to the gym and keep working on it and just figure out what I could continue to do – just work on it. It’s never an easy process when you want to do something that you love and you want to be great at it. That’s why I just continued to stay at it and continued to keep working hard. It’s going to continue to show and continue to pay off during this season.”

Rauchbach: Your three-point percentage has improved by about five percent, and scoring has increased from 7.7 to 9.9 points per game from last season. Why do you feel the reason for that is?

Galloway: “I really can’t put my finger on it. I definitely had a lot of great looks last year, but things weren’t falling for me. It was just a tough time, but this year I am out there playing free and just enjoying myself. And like my Mom always tells me, ‘Just go out there and have fun.’ My wife is always telling me go out and have fun too. I’m just enjoying it and playing the game I love.”

Rauchbach: You’re one of the leaders in the league in fourth quarter three-point shooting efficiency (55.6 percent). What changes for you in the fourth quarter?

Galloway: “I just think that Coach just draws up a lot of great plays for me in the fourth quarter, and then my teammates know I want the ball… and the fourth quarter just happens to be at the specific time that we need [big shots]. I just stay confident whenever we need a big shot and stay locked in.”

Rauchbach: Do you think the return of Jrue Holiday (and Tyreke Evans) has helped you with the type of quality shots you are now getting?

Galloway: “Yeah, we got Jrue back and Tyreke back and just getting most of our team back, I think that it made everybody just see where they were going to get their shots from and made the offense flow a lot easier. We have a lot of great guys on this team. Everybody is unselfish and everybody wants to win. Everybody is just trying to help each other win, and that’s a big key right now.”

Rauchbach: What has your experience been sharing backcourt duties with Tim Frazier? Both of you guys have similar backgrounds in going undrafted and earning guaranteed contracts this season.

Galloway: “It has been great. Tim is another guy who has a similar story to me, but at the same time we both just want to be successful and want to make it. We know where we have been at it, and what it took to get here, and now we don’t want to go back to the D-League. We want to continue to improve and continue to show what we can do, so it’s definitely great. I think we are both just having fun out there and just trying to push each other to be great.”

Rauchbach: What are some of your focuses heading into January in regards to improving parts of your game? For instance, you are killing it on catch-and-shoot and dribble hand-off opportunities ,ranking in the upper part of league. But pick-and-roll and isolation opportunities seem to be slightly down for you when compared to last season. What adjustments are you thinking about making to improve in these areas?

Galloway: “I just gotta keep working at it. I think it’s a long season. Just slowly but surely, you work on it. I think the more and more I work on it, the more and more I get better with it, and with the time I put in, I’ll get the results I want.”

Rauchbach: Do you keep in touch with any of your old Knicks’ teammates?

Galloway: “Here and there, I definitely keep in touch with them. I talk to Kristaps [Porzingis] once or twice and then everybody else… it will be great to see them, and it’s definitely going to be a battle [when we play them]. Everybody is competitive, and it’s always great to play against your old team. They know my tendencies, and they are definitely going to take me away from that. They are a great team. They are doing really good this year. They have a lot of new guys on the team, so it’s definitely going to be a great test for us.”

Rauchbach: What do you think of Kristaps’ improvement this season when compared to last?

Galloway: “He has been doing great. You could see it last year coming. He puts the work in. He is a great player. The more and more he continues to learn and the stronger he gets, you can see he is getting better game by game.”

Rauchbach: You guys are two games out of the playoffs. What do you think the key is individually and collectively for your team to grind your way into a playoff spot in the West?

Galloway: “I think we just have to stay consistent and keep having fun. That is what we have been doing these past few games, and it has been getting a lot better with the team camaraderie. I think we are focused on the task at hand, and that might mean one night we have to get a lot of stops and we gotta get up and down, and the next night it might mean we have to lock in and score the ball. We have a lot of guys on the court that can play, and everybody knows the game. It’s definitely huge for us going forward, and we know we are two games out of the playoffs. We don’t want to settle for just getting in the playoffs. We want to keep moving up and up in the standings.”

Rauchbach: What are your individual and collective goals for the rest of the season?

Galloway: “My team and individual goals are just to make the playoffs. That’s all I care about. My first two seasons, we weren’t able to make the playoffs. And now in the third year, it’s just like hey, [it’s time]. The further and further you get into your career, you want to make the playoffs and experience that and definitely just want to help this team in anyway that I can to make the playoffs.”

The Pelicans are currently 14-22, trailing the eighth seed in the Western Conference by two games. They have the seventh-ranked defense in the NBA, allowing just 103.6 points per 100 possessions.