Predicting the New Orleans Pelicans rotations, minutes distribution
By Justin Jett
A crucially underrated aspect of basketball is rotations. Choosing when and how long a certain player is on the court has the power to swing any game.
The New Orleans Pelicans have the luxury and the pressure of figuring out how to perfectly play their two behemoth stars. Ideally, they would like to have one of either Anthony Davis or DeMarcus Cousins on the court at all times.
In the preseason, Alvin Gentry often had Boogie play the entire first quarter while AD was subbed out at around the six-minute mark. Davis would then begin the second quarter and Cousins would join him six minutes in. The second half would then look similar. That would put them about 36 minutes per game, which is near their career averages.
The remaining 12 minutes at the power forward and center positions will likely be given to Alexis Ajinca, Darius Miller, and Cheick Diallo. Miller would be playing as a small ball option but he is 6’8” and went 5/8 from three-point range in the preseason. While he will not nail nearly as many threes come regular season play, he has the size to play the position while also spacing the floor.
With Rajon Rondo out for a while, Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore will be slotted in the backcourt. Jrue Holiday will likely log near his typical 32 minutes per game, rotating similarly with Anthony Davis but with fewer minutes.
He may be on the court slightly more than normal with how crucial he is for the Pels, especially early on, however.
Moore will likely get fewer minutes than the average shooting guard because he isn’t an average shooting guard. Don’t be surprised if Tony Allen, Ian Clark, and him split minutes at the shooting guard position with Clark also getting time at point guard next to Allen.
If the Pelicans were smart, this is when they would play Jordan Crawford. Crawford and Clark could make up for the lack of shooting with Allen on the court. Crawford will likely not get many minutes but will get more in the beginning of the year with Rondo out. When Rondo returns, expect his time to drop significantly.
The minute distribution should go something as follows barring injury and minute PT in blowouts:
1. Anthony Davis: 36.8
2. DeMarcus Cousins/ 36.5
3. Jrue Holiday: 33.5
4. Dante Cunningham: 26.2
5. E’Twaun Moore: 28.2
6. Ian Clark: 25.6
7. Tony Allen: 18.7
8. Jordan Crawford: 11.8
9. Darius Miller: 9.2
10. Alexis Ajinca: 7.5
11. Cheick Diallo: 6.5
No Omer Asik may be optimistic but he is nothing but a net negative for the Pels at this point. Tony Allen and Jordan Crawford will be seeing more minutes than normal with Rondo out and Cheick Diallo will likely get 5-8 minutes per game at some point.
Rotations simply don’t go past 10-11 players very often and others will get minutes due to unforeseeable circumstances.
The New Orleans Pelicans season will begin in just two days and these are the players you will likely see. We can’t wait.