New Orleans Pelicans lose to Indiana Pacers on MLK Day: Four Takeaways

4. Too many guys is a good problem to have

One of the most interesting pieces of Pelicans content to be put out this week (outside of everything here at Pelican Debrief, of course!) was written by The Step Back’s Senthil Natarajan, and it focuses specifically on the team’s offense:

Nylon Calculus: A quick look at the Pelicans’ stagnant offense and situational play

While the New Orleans Pelicans have stiffened up to become a quite underrated defense, the offensive side of the ball has taken a turn for the worse.

There seems to be an answer on the horizon, and Alvin Gentry understands it: the bench is regressing positively. Early in the year, players like E’Twaun Moore and Terrence Jones were forced to the bench despite occasionally nice play based on their inconsistency and failure to live up to career norms.

During the road trip, the bench has blown up. Tonight’s dominance by Moore, Evans, and Jones is one of the clearest examples, made more interesting by Gentry’s decision to run Holiday out for only 26 minutes and Hield for a mere 15. Even Langston Galloway, fiery out of the gate, got in a decent chunk of time, notching 24 minutes.

Now that the team has fully succumbed to a small, defensive identity, Gentry has become more confident and successful mixing and matching players. A different unit seems to come alive each night; tonight, the Evans-Galloway-Moore-Hill-Davis unit that closed the second half had the hot hand. On other nights, Gentry can play his best groups together to maximize their efficiency and balance.

Next: Anthony Davis still fourth in All-Star voting

Despite two consecutive losses, this is a great problem to have, and with a miserable Western Conference, there’s still time to figure things out. Stay tuned.