New Orleans Pelicans: A Center by Committee Approach in 2021

The New Orleans Pelicans are best served to rotate two centers in their starting lineup for the 2021 season

Watching this year’s NBA playoffs has gotten me thinking. I’ve been looking all over the league for strategies that teams are using to win during the most important time of the year and seeing if they would fit with the New Orleans Pelicans.

One idea that has recently jumped out to me is the New Orleans Pelicans potentially using multiple starting centers in 2021. A center by committee approach if you will.

This is a concept that specifically stood out at me when watching the Boston Celtics play the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals yesterday. Both teams all season long had rotated their centers more than any of their other positions and it works.

I think of this strategy like when NHL teams platoon goalies or when NFL teams swap out running backs, it’s a matchup based decision. It’s becoming something I’m fond of seeing in the NBA and I think it’ll be useful for the New Orleans Pelicans.

For Boston, their team is loaded with depth at other positions much like the New Orleans Pelicans so they used multiple centers as a way to mask the fact that they don’t have a strong interior presence. In that system, each center brought something different to the Celtics.

The Celtics started Daniel Theis the most for his value as the team’s interior defender. Then they gave large minutes to Enes Kanter for his specific strength of being a great rebounder on both ends of the floor. For stretches, Boston also used Robert Williams III as an athletic freak who can run all around the court.

Toronto’s use of the center by committee approach was because of age. Both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka are older players who are no longer equipped to handle full-time starting roles. Both men still bring some different skillsets to the floor. Gasol is the stronger passer and someone who can facilitate offense while Ibaka is the better floor spacer who can hit threes with ease.

Why I think this approach would work for the New Orleans Pelicans

I think this approach would be brilliant for the New Orleans Pelicans to explore because it will allow them to do a variety of different things on the court. For starters, this approach gives Pelicans fans what they’re asking for which is to see more of Jaxson Hayes.

Hayes can now be the starting center for the New Orleans Pelicans giving the team an athletic rim-protector. Then through the 2020 NBA Draft and Free Agency, the Pelicans could supplement Hayes with depth behind him to cover his weaknesses.

This would mean the New Orleans Pelicans can target a stretch big like I’ve suggested. That player would come in and open up the floor more for the Pelicans’ other stars like Brandon Ingram or Zion Williamson.

The Pelicans could also decide to add a player with similar traits to Derrick Favors, a smaller center with the versatility to switch out and guard the perimeter.

This strategy makes the New Orleans Pelicans a deeper team with many options for how they can beat you. One night it might be through fast-break basketball and strong rim-protection, while another night it could be three-point shooting and strong perimeter defense.

This strategy of using multiple centers won’t exclusively make the New Orleans Pelicans one of the best teams in the league but it is a minor change that could help the team along the way. Ultimately the whoever the Pelicans’ next head coach is will be making that decision, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the team platoon at the center position in 2021.