New Orleans Pelicans: One Positive/Negative for Each Player this Season
New Orleans Pelicans: One positive/negative for the starting guards.
The Starting Guards
Lonzo Ball
Positive: Lonzo improved his shooting to a respectable 37.5 percent from long-range. In March, he looked like an All-Star, averaging over 20 points per game and shooting over 50 percent from 3-point range. It wasn’t quite a breakout season, but more like the prelude to the breakout. Lonzo was confident, leading the team, playing tough defense and looked like he was on his way to a max contract, maybe as soon as this summer.
Negative: Then the bubble happened. Lonzo looked checked out, as many have reported, couldn’t make a shot, didn’t take care of the ball and looked like he had regressed overall. He is now going into the offseason with the media on his back, trade rumors swirling and a team that doesn’t know which Lonzo they are going to get. This was not the way anyone wanted to end the season and I hope all of the negativity fuels Lonzo’s desire for greatness, but if these trade rumors keep persisting (Detroit?!? Are you people nuts? Seriously, name one player on Detroit that you want. Just stop) it could linger into next season, so that is something to keep an eye on.
Jrue Holiday
Positive: Jrue Holiday and his wife Lauren set up a foundation to assist Black owned businesses and charities in the New Orleans area, which further ingrained him into the community. Holiday is a leader both on and off the court, a really good guy, and I hope he retires as a Pelican and becomes a permanent fixture in New Orleans.
Negative: Like Lonzo, Holiday didn’t play well in the eight-game finale, and we are certain to hear the trade rumors flying about him too. Lonzo stans believe Holiday is the reason Lonzo can’t thrive (absurd) while the Holiday truthers think Lonzo should be shipped to Phoenix for Ricky Rubio and a sack of old gym socks. The young Pelicans definitely did not want to head into the season with a bunch of controversy and trade rumors, but after Holiday and Lonzo’s play in the bubble, it’s inevitable. Holiday is still this team’s best player and showed it at times, but he played poorly down the stretch and was a big reason the Pels are going home early.