New Orleans Pelicans: 4 players who need to step up stagnant start

The New Orleans Pelicans are off to a 1-5 start to the NBA season, in which a noticeable number of players have underperformed.

After an offseason of exciting changes brought a lot of attention and excitement to the New Orleans Pelicans’ organization, the team has underwhelmed through six games.

Falling to 1-5 after losing on the road to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a real let down of a 104-115 finish, the team has some questions to answer if they want to find a way to push for the playoffs at the end of the season.

While the season is just 7.3% complete thus far, the team is trending the wrong way to start the campaign, despite the incredibly impressive start from fourth-year player Brandon Ingram.

Certainly, some of this falls on the coaching staff. Head coach Alvin Gentry is supposed to be known to run one of the most high-tempo offensive teams in the league, though the team ranks ninth in pace, but having the fifth-best offensive rating.

So far, Genty’s coaching performance has left something to be desired from excited fans expecting more from the new-look New Orleans Pelicans.

More troubling is the defensive start from the New Orleans Pelicans. While the team had fairly robust ball-stopping units during the Anthony Davis seasons, the employment of Jeff Bzdelik from the historically impressive Houston Rockets‘ defenses of the past few seasons hasn’t reflected on the hardwood.

Currently, the New Orleans Pelicans rank 28th in the league with a 113.8 defensive rating. The only teams worse are the depleted Golden State Warriors and the defensively-inept Houston Rockets.

Despite any credit the coaches have to take for this slow start, there are a few players who haven’t been playing up to their abilities during the start.

From key veterans to first-year players, there are players on this roster who need to provide more consistency as the season progresses this winter.

When the team takes the floor against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, they’ll have a chance to play another squad who has stumbled out of the gate. It will also be a morale boost if the Pels can take down Kyrie Irving and a Nets team many see in the playoffs.

Jrue Holiday isn’t playing like the New Orleans Pelicans’ All-NBA candidate

When the team began its rebuild by trading Anthony Davis and drafting Zion Williamson with the first overall pick, the sentiment from the front office (primarily David Griffin) called on Jrue Holiday to go forward as the team’s centerpiece.

So far, it’s not been a recognizable start from the eleventh-year All-Star. Averaging 14 points, 6.8 assists, with 4 rebounds and missing a pair of games, Holiday hasn’t looked quite like himself.

More concerning is the 36.2% shooting percentage with a 34.8% clip from three-point range. Holiday has been a playmaker in Alvin Gentry’s system, averaging 17.3 points,

Holiday did have a really nice game in the team’s Halloween night win against the Denver Nuggets. In that game, he posted 19 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and shot 3-of-5 from three-point range. It’s the only game where he’s been the All-Star player the Pelicans truly need.

Perhaps it’s going to be about continued development playing next to another understated, yet creative guard in Lonzo Ball. The two are both very interested distributors and are best when finding ways to play off of their teammates.

Jrue Holiday might be one of the players who will be most crucial to the development of this team’s core, especially when it comes to feeding Zion Williamson clean looks upon his return.

Never lacking as a defender, the veteran will at least give the team a focused stopper on the perimeter, playing much bigger than his 6’4″, 205 lbs frame.

Heading into the next stretch of the season, the team simply needs him to play like more of a key point in the offense, as he’s been invisible at times this season.

To begin his rookie season, Nickeil Alexander-Walker isn’t playing smart offense for the New Orleans Pelicans.

New Orleans Pelicans fans have to be frustrated with the early returns from rookie guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Looking revelatory in the preseason, Alexander-Walker looks unseasoned compared to others, settling for a lot of bad looks and sloppy turnovers.

Playing 13.8 minutes per game, Alexander-Walker is averaging 5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists off of the New Orleans Pelicans’ bench. He’s also averaging 7.3 field goal attempts per game, despite shooting just 25% from the floor and 27.3% from three-point range.

The metrics are hideous for Alexander-Walker through six career games. He’s got an 87 offensive rating, compared to a 117 defensive rating, a 6.7 player efficiency rating (league average is 15), the team is 14.1 points better without him on the floor, and he’s got an 8% turnover rate.

While he jumped off the page as an early contributor during the preseason, he’s had no rhythm out of the gate.

Interestingly, the team played against Alexander-Walker’s cousin, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who plays with the Thunder) on Saturday, a game in which the two performed the always-classic jersey swap.

The cousin Gilgeous-Alexander should be a model for his cousin’s game, as the second-year point guard continues to find comfort as a playmaker and shot creator for his teammates.

Hopefully, it’s just a slow start, not a long-term reflection for the previously impressive rookie. Alexander-Walker being a higher-impact player off the bench with bode well for the New Orleans Pelicans as they try to catch up from their lagging opening stretch.

Derrick Favors, thus far, hasn’t been healthy or productive.

After requesting to become a member of the New Orleans Pelicans in the offseason, with the Utah Jazz needing to clear cap, Derrick Favors hasn’t found an impact role in his new stripes.

Appearing in just three games and 61 minutes thus far for the team, Favors missed his third straight game as the team was overwhelmed by the Thunder on Saturday.

When he’s been on the floor, Favors has been less than effective to start his ninth season with the third team of his career. He’s averaging 8.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2 assists, but is lacking on the defensive end to the 114 defensive rating.

Favors struggled with right knee soreness during the preseason, which continued through to the start of the 2019-2020 run. Perhaps his less-than-exciting start will pick up after sustained rest.

Overall, Favors looks like someone destined for fewer minutes once Zion Williamson returns to the floor if he continues to be underwhelming on the defensive end of the floor. The team can play Williamson as a small-ball center and continue using Ingram as an effective power forward.

Playing pretty quality basketball for the vast majority of his NBA career, Favors should be able to pick up some slack as the season continues for the New Orleans Pelicans. Hopefully for the team, gaining comfort in his knee has noticeable on-court results.

Favors is the kind of player who could be more crucial to this team come time for the playoffs. Making 31 appearances in four trips to the playoffs with the Utah Jazz, his experience will prove invaluable if the Pelicans go on a run later in the year.

Amongst the sea of New Orleans Pelicans’ new faces, holdover E’Twaun Moore hasn’t fit in the mold.

Entering the season as one of the team’s veteran players and one of the oldest players on the roster, E’Twaun Moore has become invisible on the floor and has now caught five-straight DNP-coach’s decisions.

The nine-year veteran claimed to be stepping up his looks from three-point range in the offseason, wanting to increase his 2.4 career attempts to shoot at least six looks from long-range per contest.

One of the best three-point shooters on the roster, Moore hasn’t looked excited to create from beyond the arc this season.

Moore is a 39.2% career three-point shooter and shot 43.2% from that territory a season ago, hitting 1-of-3 from deep so far on the year, but not looking very creative tracing the perimeter.

Granted, he’s appeared in just 12 minutes in one game, when he posted 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists against the Toronto Raptors on opening night, but otherwise was a hapless 2-of-7 from the floor.

Eventually, the team will need Moore to carry the load as a floor-spacing, veteran wing for a young bunch looking to find consistent scoring from anywhere on their roster.

Perhaps the 30-year-old won’t be in the team’s future, as J.J. Redick seems like a more logical player to fit into his ideal role. The team can look to other areas and younger players if they need to find a league-average spacer to play in spot situations.

Moore will need to play better if he wants to continue holding rank for the New Orleans Pelicans, as he continues to slip out of Alvin Gentry’s rotation.