New Orleans Pelicans: Expectations vs. Reality with E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill

With the New Orleans Pelicans off to an awful 1-9 start, we look at two key free agent signings — E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill — to determine their roles in the poor record.

Of the free agents picked up by the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason, E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill were brought in to have the most impact.

With Moore starting at shooting guard (at least for as long as it takes for first round draft pick Buddy Hield to get his NBA legs) and Hill penciled into starting at small forward, these two players were meant to be solid, hard-working role players to compliment franchise-touchstone Anthony Davis on both ends of the floor.

Things have not gone exactly to plan.

While Davis has played at a superstar level through ten games, his supporting cast has been mostly abysmal. The Pelicans currently stand at 1-9 to start the season. Injuries to key players such as Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter are no doubt significant contributing factors.

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However, most of the blame for the horrific start to the season has been laid at the feet of the Pelicans’ most recent additions.

But is the play as bad as it seems? General fan consensus seems to be that Moore is contributing as much as fans should expect out of an under-the-radar role player, but Hill’s value to the team has been questionable at best. Are they right? Is Moore as good as he seems and Hill as bad as he seems?

E’Twaun Moore has started in all 10 games of the young NBA season and has posted respectable numbers according to www.basketball-reference.com. He is currently sitting on a 45.5% field goal percentage, while hitting 34.4% from behind the arc.

That three-point rate is among the lowest of his career, but the Pelicans’ long range game has been a disgusting 28.8% so far this season. Singling out Moore does little to rectify that stat. Moore only shoots 1.7 free throws per game, but he makes 82% of them. Yet, he does not stand out as a lockdown defender on the stat sheet.

Essentially, Moore is exactly who we thought he’d be: a solid rotation guy. He will rarely be solely responsible for a win or a loss. The Pelicans’ slow start says more about the system in which Moore plays than his own fault.

That said, Moore stands to significantly improve upon Jrue Holiday’s imminent return. Moore is a decent shooter and defender, but not a guy who drives to the basket. With Holiday occupying that role, Moore should be able to get open for a put back three. That would improve his (and the team’s) overall three-point shooting.

Further, Holiday’s length and intelligence on defense should work well alongside Moore. Tim Frazier has played admirably and has done more than anyone could have reasonably expected from him, but he’s no Holiday. Holiday will play better and help make Moore better.

When most fans point to a subpar player to blame for the Pelicans’ 1-9 start, Solomon Hill is the easiest target. Hill’s numbers support this feeling, with a 31.4 field goal percentage (30% from three) and only averaging five points per game. That is hardly what any fan deems worth over $11 million a season.

But Hill was never meant to be an offensive powerhouse: he was brought in to shore up perimeter defense. On that side of the ball, Hill averages 1.4 steals per game and 0.4 blocks, hardly setting the world on fire.

However, Hill does do many things that are not reflected in a box score. He is a vocal leader on the defense and often disrupts his opponent’s offensive game, in ways that lead to one of Hill’s teammates grabbing a steal or a block. Hill screens are also hawkish with his man, never letting up and allowing the opposing player to get into a rhythm on offensive. 

There is no metric for that and few would tweet a Vine (RIP) of it. But Hill has changed the tenor of the Pelicans’ defense that will continue to resonate throughout the season, as the team grows more comfortable in Darren Erman’s system.

The problem with both Moore and Hill is that they are being asked to be the second and third best Pelicans on the court, when they should be the fourth or fifth. Holiday should return to the team this week and Evans is potentially looking at a return later in the month.

Next: Buddy Hield Must Find a Rhythm to Return to Form

Once more pieces come back, Moore and HIll can settle into being what Dell Demps wanted them to be: solid rotation guys backing up a generational player and a couple of All-Stars. Once they can get back to that, Moore, Hill and the rest of the New Orleans Pelicans might just start to look a lot better.