The New Orleans Pelicans need a big man to step up.
Does this team have a big man?
One thing that has become glaringly obvious over the last four games is that the New Orleans Pelicans need some bigs.
Derrick Favors looks washed, Jaxson Hayes isn’t ready, Zion Williamson is limited, Nicolo Melli couldn’t guard a sea slug and that’s pretty much it for the Pelicans’ big men.
Zion excluded, this group has been flat out awful so far in the bubble.
Favors looks like he is glued to the floor and the Kings scored 58 points in the paint while grabbing 13 offensive rebounds, many as Favors looked on helplessly.
Hayes still needs a lot of reps to get his defense where it needs to be.
Melli is a stretch-four who can’t make an open shot. He gets tons of them every game and just keeps throwing up bricks, going eight for his last 48 from three-point range.
It’s clear the Pelicans need more size on this roster and some players who can defend their position, as right now their bigs are the reason they are losing.
They need a big wing who can defend, a power forward with some power to compete with Melli for minutes and a center who can actually block a shot.
The Pelicans’ bigs have one blocked shot in four games, which is one of the reasons the opposing guards are getting so many easy buckets.
Even when Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball play good defense and force the player into the help, it doesn’t matter because there are zero rim protectors in the lane.
There are going to be changes either way, but one of these Pelicans’ bigs needs to prove that they belong on this team next season.