New Orleans Pelicans rookies are showing mixed bag through 7 games

The New Orleans Pelicans have struggled out of the gate, but their rookies have shown some promise despite mild frustration with early returns.

Out of the gate, the New Orleans Pelicans haven’t been able to find their stride as a whole. Much of this season would hinge on how the team’s young players performed.

The team added four new faces to the organization on draft night, including three picks in the first round and two selections inside the top ten. Granted, the team better get used to making a helping of draft picks each year, as they own 16 draft picks over the next four seasons.

Zion Williamson, the most anticipated rookie of the last eight years, still hasn’t made his first trot onto the floor for the Pelicans, though the team’s other two first-rounders have each played a small share of minutes out of the gate.

Eventually, they’ll get Zion back on the floor, which hasn’t held other rookies on the team from showing some strides. It’ll be great for the organization to reveal the star to fans, while also making the stumbling team a little stronger headed into the latter two-thirds of the season.

Truly, it’s been the young players on this team looking the most impressive out of the gate.

The team needs more out of their veterans, but in the meantime, their young players are doing a lot to help carry this team through their surprisingly underwhelming team effort to begin the 2019-2020 season, something that isn’t ideal through seven games.

However, when VP of Basketball Operations David Griffin changed this roster to the tune of 12-of-18 new faces entering training camp, there was always going to need to be adjustments in the team’s chemistry to make their wheels roll.

While some rookies have shown more than others across the league, the Pelicans have to feel at least somewhat good about the general performance from the young bunch.

Zion Williamson still hasn’t played for the New Orleans Pelicans

“The waiting is the hardest part, every day you see one more card, you take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part.”

New Orleans Pelicans fans have never felt the lyrics of Tom Petty’s opening track to Hard Promises more than they do now.

Eventually, Zion Williamson will be back to full strength. For now, the team’s loses can’t help but remind fans how much better they might be with the rookie phenom on the hardwood.

The return of Williamson could mark the changing of seas for a Pelicans team who can’t find their footing off of the line. Truly, the team needs to find a spark if they have Western Conference playoff dreams still lingering from preseason expectations set at media day.

The team is lacking veteran brilliance to help in the development and burden the team’s slew of new/young faces.

Floundering to 1-6 through seven games, something has to give, but that something looks like it could be a 6’6″, 285 lbs, and is a 19-year-old rookie who can jump out of the gym.

Lacking the top overall pick from the 2019 NBA Draft, there’s going to be plenty of room for improvement once Zion returns to the fold. It’ll still be about 4-to-6 more weeks based off of early estimates, but Pelicans fans have to be hoping its sooner rather than later.

Jaxson Hayes continues to impress early

The most impressive rookie for the New Orleans Pelicans so far has clearly been Jaxson Hayes. Selected as an assumed raw prospect with the eighth overall pick out of the University of Texas, Hayes continues to be a source of inspiration for discouraged fans.

Initially, David Griffin thought Hayes might be a G-League stache for the first season of his career, but is 15.8 minutes per game, checking into four-straight swings.

Instead of needing a year to prepare at a lower level, Hayes is helping the New Orleans Pelicans to try and find ways to win in his first season in the city.

Averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 boards, while shooting 61.9% from the floor through four games, Hayes is giving the Pelicans something to cheer for, watching their rookie center as he continues to show an increasingly impressive skillset.

Advanced metrics are painting the same narrative. Hayes is posting a 19.9 player efficiency rating, 128 offensive rating, and 2.4 box plus/minus thus far. He’s got skills to develop, clearly, but the rookie continues to prove potent in the team’s up-tempo offense.

Hayes is posting a less-than-thrilling performance on the defensive end of the floor, but he hasn’t been helped by a New Orleans Pelicans’ perimeter defense that seems more than happy to watch offensive players breeze to the paint.

Perhaps posting the third-most encouraging start from any Pelicans player (Brandon Ingram and Jahlil Okafor top that list), Hayes looks to have the tools to be in the NBA for a long time, whether or not it’s in New Orleans.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker can’t buy a bucket

Struggling to make baskets out of the gate for the New Orleans Pelicans, Nickeil Alexander-Walker isn’t off to the start many expected in the NBA.

Alexander-Walker was one of the league’s show-stealers in exhibition play, but the guard has looked overwhelmed since the regular-season opener against the Toronto Raptors. In that game, Alexander-Walker went 1-of-10 from the field and 1-of-7 from three, finishing with 3 points.

While he did have a nice, 16 point, 9 assist game when the team took a shellacking from the Golden State Warriors (who did have Stephen Curry and Draymond Green), he hasn’t shown up in spots where the Pelicans really need him to contribute.

Summer League and preseason made fans think Alexander-Walker might be closer to a polished product than his less-than-adequate start from the floor.

Averaging 4.3 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 rebounds while playing 12.4 minutes per game, the counting stats aren’t pretty for the rookie. His 23.9% shooting clip from the floor compounded with his 21.7% rate from three leave even greater distaste.

But at least he’s confident.

So far, it’s been a really disappointing opening stretch. It’s not that Alexander-Walker isn’t getting open, he’s practically being left wide open anywhere that’s not three-feet from the rim.

Potentially, Alexander-Walker should consider taking less than 6.6 attempts per game and focus more on helping teammates find open shots until his shot starts falling with more consistency.

He’s simply not putting open looks through the rim but is incredibly trigger happy for a rookie not making shots. If it keeps up, it’s going to be really hard for Alvin Gentry to find the justification to keep putting him in games, even if it would hurt Alexander-Walker’s development in the long run.

Marcos “Didi” Louzada Siva won’t be on the New Orleans Pelicans until next season

When the New Orleans Pelicans used its second-round pick to select Didi Louzada from Brazil, not a lot of fans had heard the 20-year-old player’s name come up in big board conversations.

Not too many fans know that Louzada projects as an exciting NBA scorer when he makes his crack into the league, a risk Griffin was willing to take on a player who won’t affect winning and losing right out of the box.

Instead of having the raw talent in Louzada spend a year riding the bench or developing with the Erie Bay Hawks in the G-League, the team got creative, granting Louzada permission to prepare his craft overseas.

This has some wisdom, as increasing the level of competition paired with consistent minutes has allowed Louzada to expand his game across the world.

Playing well for the Sydney Kings in Australia and New Zealand’s NBL as a part of the league’s pipeline program, Louzada is averaging 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest. The expected spacing-and-scoring option shooting a less-than-exciting 32% from the field.

While Louzada might look imperfect as a prospect, allowing him the chance to play 24.8 minutes of professional basketball per night without the high-intensity of the NBA might yield great results when the prospect heads overseas.

The New Orleans Pelicans have to play the year-long waiting game for Louzada, but it should be beneficial for his development in the long run.

Nicolò Melli is still finding a groove in NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans

It’s been an interesting start to the tenure of Nicolò Melli, as the Italian finds himself in a variety of roles as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Melli has been asked to be the team’s starting power forward, sixth man, spacer off the bench, and most recently, was the lone active Pelican not to check-in against the Brooklyn Nets. Ideally, the team will be able to carve out a more defined role with this team.

While some fans of the team might not realize the thick-beared, 28-year-old is playing in his first season as a member of the NBA, making him a qualified rookie.

Shooting 55.6% from the floor and 35.7% from three, it’s been a solid shooting effort for Melli. He’s averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game for the Pelicans, making him a pretty frequent call off of Alvin Gentry’s bench.

Signed to a two-year, $8 million deal with the team in the offseason, Melli isn’t a perfect player, but his ability to hit big threes have made him an exciting prospect in New Orleans.

When the team can pair him next to the inside scoring threat in Zion Williamson, he should be able to open up his ability perimeter threat.

For now, the team would love to see Melli improve on the glass, while also continuing to find comfort running in an NBA offense. Until then, the rookie will just have to keep finding ways to get his sea legs in his first year at the highest level of professional basketball.