How Pelicans’ Jeremiah Fears learned ‘manipulating’ moves by slowing down

For a rookie point guard, the speed of the NBA game is often the biggest shock to the system. For the rebuilding New Orleans Pelicans and phenomenal first-round pick Jeremiah Fears, the revelation has been learning when to hit the brakes. As the regular season winds down, the 19-year-old says the most important knowledge he has gained over his first 60 games is mastering the art of deception through pacing.

That is why Fears spent the past several weeks working to harness his elite athleticism rather than simply unleash it at every turn. At least that was the first thing mentioned when asked about why things are going right lately.

“Through my pace, playing with pace. I think two months ago, I was just trying to use my speed. Now it’s learning when to use your speed, when to attack and get downhill, attack angles, attack spots, and know where you’re trying to get to on the floor. I’m manipulating the defense,” Fears began. “I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job with that lately after the All-Star break. So, just continuing to keep learning, continuing to slow the game down and make the game a lot easier for myself.”

Early in the season, Fears often tried to overwhelm defenders with pure acceleration. While that approach occasionally produced highlight plays in transition, it also led to difficult shots and rushed decisions in the half-court.

Veteran NBA defenses quickly adjusted, sitting on driving lanes and forcing the rookie guard into contested situations. The experience forced Fears to rethink how he used his physical tools. Rather than attacking every possession at top speed, he has begun to vary tempos and wait for defenders to shift before accelerating. The adjustment has helped him create better looks for everyone.

“It’s huge. Being able to pick and choose when you should use your speed is definitely huge because it’ll definitely catch the defense off guard,” Fears said. “I’m fast, so the majority of the time they’re going to be thinking like, “All right, he’s about to try to get down there.” So, they’re going to be intimidated by my speed.”

Fears is forcing defenders into uncomfortable positions before they can properly set themselves, creating more advantageous angles and open driving lanes than raw speed alone could generate. As the Pelicans play out the final weeks of a challenging season, the speedster is focused on refining that balance. While his playmaking has grown, the Oklahoma alum remains mindful of the areas needing polish.

“I’m just continuing to play with that pace and pick and choose when I should use my speed. Maybe in a break or in a play where the defense heads are turned, use your speed,” Fears explained. “In the last couple of games, I’ve been turning over a little too much, so I definitely need to cut down on the turnovers. Watch a little extra film and just make sure that I continue to take care of the ball. Try not to have as many turnovers. At the end of the day, those turnovers could lead to some easy baskets that you could take away and potentially open up the game.”

The Pelicans can deal with the rookie turnovers, as long as Fears does not play timid everything should be fine moving forward. He is averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 36.1% from three-point range in the last eight games. That’s one way to break through a rookie wall while being shuffled between the starting lineup and a bench role. But stats do not tell the full story. All that matters really is that his All-Rookie contributions to this point have displayed several franchise cornerstone features.

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