New Orleans Pelicans: Young players’ minutes will be important.
Are There Any Keepers at the End of the Bench?
What about some of the guys we haven’t seen on the court as much this year? For all of the younger players, more minutes is a good thing in relation to their overall development.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker played sporadically at best. But all signs point to him getting increased playing time the final few games. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles some of the pressure as he tries to prove he’s ready for additional playing time next season.
Meanwhile, we haven’t seen a whole lot of Kenrich Williams this year due to injury. We know what he’s capable of, but since he’s not played much with this roster, will the coaches give him some minutes in “garbage” games, so to speak?
How many minutes will Zylan Cheatham log? He had some great moments in the G-League and while we’ve not seen much of him recently, he is more than likely to see significant playing time.
Also, we haven’t seen much of Sindarius Thornwell since he was signed right before “bubble season” kicked off. During these final two games, are his skills complimentary with some of the up and coming players for the Pels?
While plenty of reporters and opinion writers from the Crescent City and beyond will discuss only the bad, and how there is nothing to play for, I tend to disagree.
With a season uprooted by untimely injuries and the Covid pandemic, it’s time to look towards the future. The New Orleans Pelicans have a bright one and while it may be hard to see right now, it’s there.
We can debate all day who will be signed, who won’t return, who will be coaching and who won’t. But one thing is for sure. These final two games will give us a small glimpse into what is sure to be an even better next year.