New Orleans Pelicans Player of the Week: Donatas Motiejunas
New Orleans Pelicans recently signed big man Donatas Motiejunas has struggled to fit into his new team. What could that mean for the Pelicans and Motiejunas?
Nearly three weeks ago the New Orleans Pelicans signed Donatas Motiejunas to a one year contract.
Fast forward three weeks later and he is already out of the rotation.
That’s a bad sign for both parties, management and player. Each are relying on the other, to help themselves make money. The Pelicans in the form of a playoff push and Motiejunas in way of a big contract during the summer.
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It has been a quick fall from grace for Motiejunas, who started off his Pelicans career in a emphatic way. Motiejunas had 11 points on only five shots and dished out four assists in his Pelicans debut.
His performance wasn’t other-wordly, but it was well enough to get fans talking. However, his debut game seems to be the outlier, in his time with the Pelicans. D-Mo has not scored more than six points in a game since debuting in Boston on January 7th. That outlier? In garbage time, during the most recent loss to Brooklyn.
His lack of scoring output has been matched by his poor inside defense. Donatas Motiejunas is not doing a good job of defending in the post. His intial defense is pretty decent at times, but his poor wingspan doesn’t allow him to contest shots consistently. Couple this with his frail frame that allows him to be easily backed down, and there’s a recipe for easy inside baskets.
Here Motiejunas is helpless in preventing Al Jefferson from getting to his spot. He gives up very deep post position and then is helpless in terms of contesting the shot. This has happened fairly often with Motiejunas, who is an undisciplined post defender at times.
Here Motiejunas falls for the jab-step pump fake, allowing Al Jefferson the bit of space he needs to get Donatas out of position. Luckily though, Terrence Jones was quick to recognize the danger.
Motiejunas has also been bad on recognizing switches. He has been late on his rotations, which has led to some defensive breakdowns. But when taking into account that he’s only been with the team since January, defensive breakdowns aren’t surprising. What has really been surprising is his fit into the Pelicans offense.
When Motiejunas originally signed, it was thought that he would be a seamless fit next to Anthony Davis. With Motiejunas being a good passing big and a bit of a floor spacer, he could’ve complimented the skill set of Anthony Davis well. Instead, a lot of the possessions with Motiejunas inserted end up with him setting a screen and just spotting up from behind the arc.
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It has been a rough start for Donatas’ career as a Pelican. But for a player that lost over 30 million dollars, he needs to start producing if wants to make close to that money back. He will undoubtedly get his chance in the rotation at some point. As he gets more familiar with the system, he should improve. And if he doesn’t, his future job and money will likely be at stake.