Examining The New Orleans Pelicans Backcourt Rotations
The New Orleans Pelicans backcourt depth chart is packed with talent. Alvin Gentry will face some tough decisions while finding proper rotations and staggering their minutes.
Jrue Holiday is the undeniable leader of the New Orleans Pelicans going into next season. David Griffin has given Holiday ‘permission to dominate’ the game. Holiday will get the majority of the backcourt minutes, but his running mates will have ample opportunity to show their worth.
Holiday has played 36 minutes per game in the last two seasons. The Pelican should not require much more from him. In fact, with such a deep squad and winning expectations, Holiday could see a reduction of minutes. NBA MVP candidates do not have to lead the league in minutes played.
Aiming for 32-34 minutes per game is not unreasonable. Over the course of the 82 game season, those minutes add up. The injury risk mitigation alone is worth finding Holiday extra rest. If the Pelicans are winning as expected, Holiday can sit during his usual fourth-quarter shifts.
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Lonzo Ball has averaged 34 minutes per game in his rookie season. His time was reduced once the Los Angeles Lakers signed LeBron James, logging only 30 minutes per game last season. Ball has only appeared in 99 of a possible 164 games in his career.
Ball can expect to play alongside Holiday for most of his time on the court. They create the most formidable defensive pairing for the Pelicans. Ball has the passing and handling talent to allow Holiday to play in his preferred spots at two-guard.
Allowing Holiday to play more aggressively on both ends is the biggest benefit of playing Ball. Once Ball develops a consistent jumper, he could finish games, instead of just getting spot starts. Until then, Lonzo should look for no more than 30 minutes per game.
JJ Redick is the New Orleans Pelicans last possible 30 minute per game talent. In the last nine years, Redick has averaged between 27.2 and 31.5 minutes per game. Redick is one of the greatest shooters in the game when he is fresh.
Redick could play with Holiday and Ball in the Pelicans smaller lineups. Those three plus Zion and Favors could put up points in a hurry while being stout enough defensively to expect some stops. Sub in Brandon Ingram and Redick could find plenty of shots in 26-28 minutes per game and still be fresh for a playoff run.
Ingram, Williamson, and Favors will demand a bulk of the frontcourt minutes. Those three together with Holiday and Redick could be the Pelicans best lineup for most occasions. That will make it difficult to find many extra minutes for the back end of the backcourt depth chart.
In two seasons, Josh Hart has averaged 24.4 minutes played through 130 games as a Laker. Los Angeles was only playing for free agency and player development. The Lakers were practically forcing him into extra minutes as a rookie. He will have to really show improvement to earn more than 20 minutes per game in New Orleans.
Frank Jackson has been in the Pelicans development system for years now. New Orleans has not lost faith in Jackson. Quite the opposite, the team expects a return on their investment soon. Jackson will not be afforded too many mistakes going forward.
Jackson played wonderfully during Summer League action. He will have to translate that dominating Las Vegas performance into regular-season production. Alvin Gentry has too many other options.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker put on a show during Las Vegas Summer League. Highlight reels of his passes alone will soon hit Youtube. However, he may have to grind out some G-League minutes to keep fresh. Pushing Alexander-Walker into more than mop-up minutes pushes too much potential All-Star talent to the bench.
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Alexander-Walker has First Team All-Rookie potential. Sadly, the Pelicans will not have the minutes for more than one star rookie. Alexander-Walker would have to dominate more than a few practices to demand minutes from the starters.