Corey Webster has put in a decent showing in his third NBA preseason game for the New Orleans Pelicans, but it was one of his rivals who stole the show.
Webster is one of four players tipped to be fighting for one open guard/wing spot on the Pelicans' final roster,along with Chris Douglas-Roberts, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Sean Kilpatrick. The Tall Blacks guard was solid in his five minutes on court against the Chicago Bulls, but Kilpatrick shone.
Kilpatrick - a former Cincinnati Bearcat and someone who played four NBA games for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season simply because he was within driving distance - exploded in the second half to end with 23 points.
Kilpatrick was the game's second highest scorer, and caused a big turnaround for the Pelicans who struggled early on. He shot 7/12 from the field, 3/7 from deep and 6/6 from the line, adding a rebound, two assists and three steals in a fantastic display.
Playing slightly out of position as a full-time point guard, Webster received five minutes of action late in the first quarter and early in the second, scoring two points (1/2 shooting) and dropping two assists, one to Ryan Anderson in a nice pick and roll, and the other also to Anderson who hit an open trey.
He ran the offence smoothly and didn't look out of place, but did foul Aaron Brooks on a three early on.
The other two competitors for the roster spot had mixed games. Douglas-Roberts was the first man off the bench and played strong defence, but didn't provide much at all offensively, scoring five points on 1/4 shooting and adding three assists and two steals in his 27 minutes of court time.
Dejean-Jones played some extended second half minutes and recorded eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
However, most of the production was made by Kilpatrick, who made the most of the extra minutes provided due to the absence of Eric Gordon and Norris Cole.
Webster's best hope of making the roster is if the Pelicans decide to fill their two open roster spots with two guards/wings instead of the projected one guard and one big (likely to be Jeff Adrien).
However, it is highly unlikely that the Pelicans will roster both Kilpatrick and Webster due to the similarities in their games, so Kilpatrick's big showing today will have probably given him a distinct edge in the eyes of the Pelicans coaching staff.
