With Solomon Hill Out, Pelicans Will Have to Embrace the 3-Guard Lineup

With Solomon Hill out for what’s likely most of the season, the Pelicans have a gaping hole on their roster. The agreed upon solution for the Pelicans need at wing is to stretch Omer Asik and re-sign Dante Cunningham.

This is a fine and likely next step but this injury also means it’s time for the Pelicans to fully embrace the three-guard lineup. Stretching Asik’s contract will mean paying the big man for much longer than necessary. A stain on the salary cap for years to come.

Signing other sub-par wings just would be a ho-hum return to the ordinary.

The Pels scarcity of wings exists because it accompanies their surplus of guards. Last season, Jordan “Instant Grits” Crawford was a revelation for the Pels down the stretch as players fell like dominoes on a windy day.

Jrue Holiday finally had a healthy season and proved to be an above average point guard. The Pelicans then added two capable reserves in Rajon Rondo and Ian Clark.

Individually these guards are not the most well-rounded of players but together they could find true success.

As examined in “The Pelicans Have Shooting, Now They Need Volume“, having three guards in the lineup at once could be a viable option. The Pelicans bigs allow for the size disparity to matter less because driving into the lane will be much harder.

Also, having a small forward choose to post up is a win for a defense. It takes an offense out of their normal routine and pushes them into an inefficient shot while they scream, “Mouse in the House!”

Otto Porter Jr. consistently attempted to utilize his size against Isaiah Thomas in the playoffs and found little success.

There are really only five and a fourth (Carmelo Anthony on a good day) players that could really hurt the Pelicans having an extra small, small forward.

The main concern would be one-three pick and rolls/pops where the small forward sets a screen for the point guard. E’Twuan Moore may be the most capable to handle these screens but they would most likely find immense success against these small lineups.

The defense may suffer slightly but it is the offense that was so stale last season. Having three guards in at one time may be the boost the Pels need.

In the playoffs, these lineups found success. The Rockets were +75 with three guards in the lineup. DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, and Norman Powell were the only three man lineup with a positive plus/minus that played at least 100 minutes for the Raptors.

Avery Bradley, Terry Rozier, and Marcus Smart were Boston’s fifth best lineup in plus/minus.

When discussing going small, so often people imagine going slightly smaller at the power forward position. Last year’s playoffs demonstrated that the definition may need to be tweaked.

Having three players who can handle the rock and run the offense is a critically undervalued aspect of these lineups. Small forwards can so rarely run an offense like a guard can.

Next: Anthony Davis & DeMarcus Cousins Will Give Pelicans a Top-5 Defense

Options are the name of the game on offense. The more you have, the harder you are to cover and predict. Rolling out three guards could do this for the Pelicans offense and would be great to see next to Boogie and the Brow.

With Solomon Hill injured, it’s time to embrace the three-guard lineup.