New Orleans Pelicans Round Table Discussion: State Of The Union
By Joshua Lea
Whats the biggest thing the New Orleans Pelicans need to work on?
Mark Nilon (@MarkNilon):
Chemistry is their biggest weakness. A team can only be as good as their chemistry allows them to be. If they focus on the teams overall play for the remainder of the season, next year could be a much better experience filled with affinity and familiarity.
Seth Nefksy (@nef_said):
They need to fix the lineups without Anthony Davis, even with Cousins in a cast. Whenever Davis is on the floor, the Pelicans should be able to stay in a game against most competition. However, when Davis is on the bench, everything that could go wrong for the Pelicans does. In 215 minutes without Cousins or Davis, the Pelicans have a disgusting -17.3 net-rating, due to their unholy defense, allowing 125.2 points per 100 possessions.
Cheick Diallo has not been a very good defender this season. His defensive real plus-minus is sitting at -1.28 this season and he has allowed for opponents to shoot 7.4% better than usual with him within six feet of the basket. At this point in the season, it is safe to say that Diallo is not ready enough to be a stable backup center.
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This leaves the Pels with two options. They can either have Emeka Okafor play center with Davis off the floor, which should help the defense, but stunt the offense, as Mek no longer has the rolling legs of his younger days, and has continued to shoot mostly in the restricted area.
The other option is to forget rim protection entirely and opt for a more dynamic, yet defensively limited lineup. Though Mirotic and Darius Miller might seem like a sorry defensive combo, they should be able to spread the floor terrifically. And despite being the team’s second best player with Boogie out, Holiday has played just 54% of Boogie and Davis-less minutes. Staggering Davis and Holiday’s minutes should help the Pelicans remain competitive throughout the course of a game, as well.
Chris Connor (@Impatientbull):
They need to bring consistent energy and focus. The Pelicans have stretches when they’re engaged on both sides and look fun to watch. And then you have other periods where they’re just going through the motions and looking disinterested. If they can play at least average defense they can improve down the stretch. Additionally, guys like Cheick Diallo, DeAndre Liggins, and a healthy Solomon Hill, will be important. They can be spark plugs for what is an extremely tired group.
Joshua Lea (@joshualeaa):
This team has a strong tendency to give up big leads, that has to stop. They gave up a 28 point lead to Brooklyn and barely got the win in double overtime. They have to keep their foot on the neck once they get the lead above 10 points.