New Orleans Pelicans: The long list of problems
What started as a strong season for the New Orleans Pelicans has turned into a flailing mess of problems. It appears this team is on the verge of another epic collapse, and this time, it isn’t due to a lack of talent in the starting lineup.
What this team suffers from is a series of bad choices, all of which have now compiled themselves on top of a franchise that will be looking to build a title contender around Anthony Davis in the near future in order to keep him around for his second max contract. This series of bad decisions, starts at the top, or at least as high as we are going to talk about here, which is the general manager position with Dell Demps. From here on out, you will be seeing in bold the problems I believe the Pelicans face and why it is a problem. Comments are encouraged.
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Dell Demps
He was named the GM on July 21, 2010, and his best move came when he drafted Anthony Davis in 2012. For the sake of this article, I’m not considering that a good move, because the only way you don’t make that move is if you don’t have the first pick in that draft. (If he would have not drafted AD, he would be fired by now.) With the Davis move exempt, let’s take a look at his next best acquisition as the GM.
In this case, it would be the trade he made to get Ryan Anderson from Orlando. In this trade, he rid the team of aging point guard Jarret Jack, and center Gustavo Ayon. Since then, he has acquired and traded Robin Lopez, a very efficient player who excels in the pick and roll, signed Tyreke Evans to an almost untradeable contract, and given Eric Gordon a max deal.
Since arriving in New Orleans, Gordon has played in 127 out of a possible 318 games. If you’re not that good at mental math, like me, that’s only 40 percent of the games he could have played in.
The counter argument to the Eric Gordon contract was that he would be going to Phoenix, a conference opponent, who is known for having magical powers in their training rooms that can heal injuries, and prevent nerves from crippling you into what is widely considered an exit form the league. (Steve Nash, you had a good run, and you were a great player, sad to see you go out that way.)
Consider my time talking about Dell Demps over. Rick Stone will have an article discussing Demps as a GM sometime in early December.
Where do I begin? His love for John Salmons, his lack of emotion, his lack of consistency, or his rotations?
His rotations seem to come straight from the opening sequence of Sharknado 2. It’s so bad you literally CANNOT TAKE YOUR EYE’S OFF OF IT. I mean seriously, for reference, on Friday night when the Pelicans played the Atlanta Hawks, John Salmons played 25 minutes.
Luke Babbitt, who can not be any worse than Salmons on defense, and provides a much more consistent offensive presence, played a mere four minutes, and young wing Darius Miller, who started the game before on Tuesday against Sacramento, and also can’t be worse on defense than Salmons, didn’t see the floor.
Monty’s lack of consistency leads well into more discussion about his rotations. As of Friday night, Austin Rivers has played anywhere between 16 and 32 minutes. Alexi Ajinca has started four games due to an injury to Omer Asik, not played in 2 games, and played anywhere between five and 21 minutes.
Darius Miller started Tuesday night against the Kings, and then didn’t play Saturday night against the Hawks. Meanwhile, Jimmer Fredette, who I will assume made the roster because of his ability to hit the long ball has not played in five games and has played anywhere between three, and 17 minutes per game.
Not allowing your players to play consistent minutes throws of their rhythm, harm whatever confidence they have, and leaves your players wondering if they will get the opportunity to play that night. If you bring a guy in to spread the floor, put him in a position to do that.
Finally, while it isn’t the most important thing to me, Monty Williams coaches with faces, and body language that could rival Kristen Stewart in a competition to see who is the least emotional. Monty Williams should be leading the team, getting emotional, demonstrating passion, and demanding excellence from his players. What I see instead is 25 minutes of John Salmons, no where near excellence.
Late Game Defense
This teams defensive rating according to NBA stats is…wait for it…105.5. I’ll just leave that there.
In the fourth quarter, there defensive rating shoots to 119.9. THEY ARE GIVING UP 120 POINTS PER 100 POSSESIONS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF GAMES! I had a mini heart attack when I first saw this. If you thought that was bad, on the road, that number jumps to an astounding 132.3 points per 100 possessions. I’m going to stop talking about this now. (To look at these stats, go here.)
What all of this means, is that despite what we saw out of the team early in the season, which was promising play from a good portion of the roster, a win over San Antonio, and a very close game against the Cavaliers, this team is not ready to go to the playoffs, even if Anthony Davis is the fourth best player in the league when the season is over.
The Pelicans are missing a true small forward who has even a semblance of starting potential, employ a emotionless coach and can’t close out a game thanks in part to a roster that seems to be as delicate as single ply toilet paper.
The list of problems is long and upsetting. Maybe some things change, but for now the Pelicans are a mess.
Next: The Pelicans take on the Wizards tonight. Check out the preview.