The Kenny Hustle and E’Twaun Show is lifting injury-ravished New Orleans Pelicans

Kenrich Williams and E’Twaun Moore might not be household names, but the two have proven valuable for the New Orleans Pelicans in twelve games.

The New Orleans Pelicans may be completely scorched with injuries, but two unlikely rotation players have continued to shine in augmented roles.

Some might not be able to pick Kenrich Williams out of a crowd and many have at least wondered how valuable E’twaun Moore will really be for the future of this team. In turn, Williams and Moore are both getting thrown into tricky situations and showing poise in those moments.

Williams has appeared in all 12 games for the New Orleans Pelicans this season and started 4 consecutive games due to his impressive early-season performance.

The second-year man is averaging 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and hitting a solid 35.7% of his looks from three-point range. He’s been most impressive to those watching closely, where he’s been a stifling defender and a sculpted off-ball offensive creator.

Moore has appeared in only 7 games so far this season but has started in two consecutive appearances.

In his two starts, he’s averaged 16.5 points, 4 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and shot 41.7 from three-point range. Overall, Moore is averaging 10.3 points 1.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 steals and hitting 32% of his looks from beyond the arc.

Moore has also played with a refreshing level of hustle, really giving this team an edge while contributing 34.6 minutes per game as a member of the starting five.

Yesterday against the Miami Heat, the Pelicans looked on the two as starts as the team was totally stripped of its depth due to injuries to key players before and during the game.

Lacking Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Jahlil Okafor, J.J. Redick, and Josh Hart out of the game, they proceeded to lose starters Frank Jackson and Derrick Favors before halftime.

The New Orleans Pelicans being able to trust these two players was huge. Even as the team trailed and eventually ran out of gas late, Moore and Williams played key roles as the team toppled Paul George and the LA Clippers in New Orleans earlier this week.

If the Kenny Hustle and E’Twaun show can roll on, the New Orleans Pelicans bench could be tough to beat down the stretch.

All is not lost for the New Orleans Pelicans, who have started slow but have plenty of basketball left to play.

One key component of this team going on any sort of run will be continued positive play from their bench, who’ve had good moments this season, but have too often been torched on defense.

Williams has been very good on that end of the floor in particular. Giving the Pelicans a ton of two-way edge, Kenny Hustle is posting a 124 offense and 112 defensive rating. Additionally, the team is +2.5 with him on the hardwood and -14.3 with the sophomore-year player on the bench.

Earlier this week, an interesting tweet revealed J.J Redick’s admiration for Kenrich Williams, as the two have bonded as seatmates on team flights.

Giving the team some serious two-way edge, Williams is carving himself out a solid future not only in the Pelicans rotation but for a pretty good NBA career.

The Pelicans will need to continue to see solid shooting out of E’Twaun Moore.

On media day, Moore stated his interest in attempting at least 6 threes per game this season, a noteworthy jump from his 4 attempts per game on his career and 4.3 attempts a season ago.

Attempting 5.9 threes per contest this season, Moore is really starting to find his groove after riding the pine to start the season.

With Nickeil Alexander-Walker starting to find his bounce, Zion Williamson due to return in a few weeks, Jrue Holiday starting to find his stride, and certainly some of the seven injured Pelicans from last night’s game due to return, things are really starting to stew in the right direction.

Getting an edge from their second unit could make this team formidable with a ton of time left in the season. The New Orleans Pelicans are off to a 3-9 start but wins over the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets have made them appear capable of going to battle with the elite teams in the West.

Moore and Williams are giving this team incredible effort and edge to start the year. If that trend continues, they’ll both earn good spots in the rotation once they’re back at capacity.

The playoff race shouldn’t be too far out of focus for this New Orleans Pelicans bunch yet, not until we see them with Zion on the floor. With players clearly starting to feel more comfortable in their roles, this team could be hard to take down come midseason.

Adding a boost to what’s been a relatively impressive bench unit for the New Orleans Pelicans, Moore and Williams are giving this team an extra edge while they continue to build a brand. True to the “Won’t Bow Down” tagline, these two have been persistent despite a flurry of injuries.