The New Orleans Pelicans Should Go Hard After Nerlens Noel
The New Orleans Pelicans need to get bigger, especially in the second unit, which is why they should go hard after Nerlens Noel.
The New Orleans Pelicans get pushed around a lot and that needs to change.
One thing that stands out when watching the Pelicans is that they are often overmatched physically, especially the second unit, which doesn’t have any real bangers down low.
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Derrick Favors is a free agent and Jaxson Hayes is not ready to take over full-time center duties, as he is just 19-years-old and lacks the “old man strength” necessary to bang with NBA centers.
Regardless of what happens with Favors, the Pelicans need to get bigger, find more rim protection and ways to defend the paint.
The Pelicans are 4th in overall scoring, but just 20th in defense, a gap that must be closed if the Pels want to join the elite of the Western Conference.
The Pelicans have been particularly bad at stopping teams in the paint, as they are just 28th in the league in points in the paint allowed, giving up a staggering 53 points per game down low.
Even though the Pelicans are a top-ten team in rebounds, they are still just 24th in second chance points allowed, illustrating their lack of rim protection.
Favors is a good defender, but not a great shot blocker. Zion Williamson is not a rim protector and often leaks out for fast breaks, especially if has has switched onto a perimeter player.
The Pels need someone who can anchor the defense in the second unit, a guy who can play 18-20 minutes a game, muscle the other teams’ bigs and help the Pelicans stop giving up the easy ones under the hoop.
That guy might just be Nerlens Noel.
Noel’s career has probably been a disappointment overall, as he was selected sixth by the Sixers and has never lived up to it, but he does a couple of things the Pelicans need and would be a great fit.